Where does “boilerplate” come from?
boilerplate (English) comes from English boiler, from English -er, from Middle English -er, from Old French -er, from Latin -āre, from Proto-Italic -āō, from Proto-Indo-European -eh₂yéti, from Proto-Indo-European -yéti — he, she.
boilerplate (English): A sheet of copper or steel used in the...
Definitions
- A sheet of copper or steel used in the...
Ancestry of “boilerplate”, step by step
boilerplate traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English boiler
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | boiler | A person who boils something; A steam boiler; An... |
| 2 | English | -er | A person or thing that does an action indicated... |
| 3 | Middle English | -er | agentive suffix; agent noun suffix |
| 4 | Old French | -er | Alternative form of -ier, verbal suffix;... |
| 5 | Latin | -āre | first conjugation |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | -āō | Forms primarily denominative verbs |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -eh₂yéti | Creates iterative/ frequentative/ intensive... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -yéti | Creates intransitive, often deponent,... |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | yé- | — |
| 10 | Chichewa | iye | he, she |
via English plate
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | plate | A slightly curved but almost flat dish from which... |
| 2 | Old French | plate | a flat metal disk; a flat plate of armor |
| 3 | Medieval Latin | plata | silver |
| 4 | Vulgar Latin | plattus | flattened; flat; smooth |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | πλατύς | wide, broad; flat, level; broad-shouldered |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | pléth₂us | flat, broad |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | pleth₂- | flat |