Where does “brass ceiling” come from?

brass ceiling (English) comes from English brass, from Spanish braza, from Old Spanish braça, from Latin brachia, from Latin bracchium, from Ancient Greek βραχίων, from Ancient Greek βραχύς, from Proto-Indo-European mréǵʰus — short.

brass ceiling (English): An unwritten, uncodified barrier to promotion or...

Definitions

  1. An unwritten, uncodified barrier to promotion or...

Ancestry of “brass ceiling”, step by step

brass ceiling traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English brass

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishbrassA metallic alloy of copper and zinc used in many...
2Spanishbrazabreaststroke; fathom About 1.67 metres. Twice a...
3Old Spanishbraça
4Latinbrachianominative plural of brachium; accusative plural...
5Latinbracchiumforearm; arm; limb of an animal
6Ancient Greekβραχίωνthe arm, the shoulder; comparative degree of...
7Ancient Greekβραχύςshort, brief; short, small, little; few
8Proto-Indo-Europeanmréǵʰusshort; brief
9Proto-Indo-Europeanmreǵʰ-short

via English ceiling

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishceilingThe overhead closure of a room; The upper limit...
2Middle Englishcelingpaneling; cover or hanging
3Middle Englishcelento cover or panel walls
4Old Frenchcelerto conceal
5Latincelōto hide (something from someone), cover, keep a secret, conceal
Every word from Proto-Indo-European mreǵʰ-Every word from Proto-Indo-European mréǵʰusEvery word from Ancient Greek βραχύς