Where does “brakepipe” come from?
brakepipe (English) comes from English pipe, from Middle English pīpe, from Middle English pipen, from Old English pīpian, from Proto-West Germanic pīpan, from Proto-Germanic pīpaną, from Latin pipo — I pip, peep.
brakepipe (English): A continuous pipe or hose filled with high-pressure air and running the length of a train, used to recharge the train's brake reservoirs with compressed air and to control the train's air brakes through changes in its internal air pressure
Definitions
- A continuous pipe or hose filled with high-pressure air and running the length of a train, used to recharge the train's brake reservoirs with compressed air and to control the train's air brakes through changes in its internal air pressure
Ancestry of “brakepipe”, step by step
brakepipe traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English pipe
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | pipe | Meanings relating to a wind instrument; Meanings... |
| 2 | Middle English | pīpe | A pipe; a piece of tubing used as a channel (often for fluids) |
| 3 | Middle English | pipen | To use a pipe or similar musical instrument; to... |
| 4 | Old English | pīpian | to pipe |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | pīpan | to peep, to chirp, to squeak |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | pīpaną | To chirp or pipe like a bird or rodent; To talk... |
| 7 | Latin | pipo | I pip, peep |