Where does “block length” come from?

block length (English) comes from English block, from French Bloc, from Middle French bloc, from Old French bloc, from Dutch blok, from Middle Dutch blok, from Old Dutch blok, from Proto-West Germanic blokk — thick plank, beam, pile, prop.

block length (English): The length of a block of data

Definitions

  1. The length of a block of data

Ancestry of “block length”, step by step

block length traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English block

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishblockA substantial, often approximately cuboid, piece...
2FrenchBlocBloc — Bloc Québécois (Bloc québécois)
3Middle Frenchbloca considerable piece of something heavy, block
4Old Frenchbloclog, block
5Dutchbloka block; a street block; a political bloc
6Middle Dutchbloktreetrunk
7Old Dutchbloklog
8Proto-West Germanicblokkblock, log
9Proto-Germanicblukkąblock, log
10Proto-Indo-Europeanbhulg'-
11Proto-Indo-Europeanbhelg'-thick plank, beam, pile, prop

via English length

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishlengthThe distance measured along the longest dimension...
2Middle Englishlengthelength
3Old Englishlengþulength
4Proto-Germaniclangiþōlongness, length
5Proto-Germaniclangazlong
6Proto-Indo-Europeandlongʰoslong
Every word from Proto-Indo-European bhelg'-Every word from Proto-Indo-European bhulg'-Every word from Proto-Germanic blukką
block length — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer