Where does “bellybutton” come from?
bellybutton (English) comes from English button, from French bouton, from Italian bottone, from Spanish botón, from Old French boton, from Old French bouter, from Frankish bautan, from Proto-West Germanic bautan — to grow, swell; to swell, wax, grow; to blow; to...
bellybutton (English): The navel or umbilicus
Ancestry of “bellybutton”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | button | A knob or disc that is passed through a loop or ,... |
| 2 | French | bouton | button; bud; pimple, spot, zit |
| 3 | Italian | bottone | button; bud |
| 4 | Spanish | botón | button; key; bud |
| 5 | Old French | boton | — |
| 6 | Old French | bouter | to strike; to hit; to place; to put; to enter |
| 7 | Frankish | bautan | to push, strike, beat; to hit, strike; to hit,... |
| 8 | Proto-West Germanic | bautan | to beat |
| 9 | Proto-Germanic | bautaną | to beat, push |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰewd- | to hit, strike; to beat, push; to strike, push,... |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰew- | to grow, swell; to swell, wax, grow; to blow; to... |