Where does “breadline” come from?
breadline (English) comes from English bread, from Middle English bred, from Old English bred, from Old English -en, from Old Norse -inn, from Proto-Norse -īna-, from Proto-Germanic -īnaz, from Proto-Indo-European -iHnos — adjectival suffix.
breadline (English): A line of people waiting to receive food from a...
Definitions
- A line of people waiting to receive food from a...
Ancestry of “breadline”, step by step
breadline traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English bread
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | bread | A foodstuff made by baking dough made from... |
| 2 | Middle English | bred | bread, pastry; food, nourishment |
| 3 | Old English | bred | surface; plank, board; table, tablet |
| 4 | Old English | -en | mæġþ + API → mæġden; cocc + API → cycen, cicen;... |
| 5 | Old Norse | -inn | Used to create adjectives from nouns, meaning... |
| 6 | Proto-Norse | -īna- | — |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | -īnaz | -en |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -iHnos | Creates adjectives of materials |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -no- | adjectival suffix |
via English line
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | line | A path through two or more points (compare ‘segment’); a continuous mark, including as made by a pen; any path, curved or straight |
| 2 | Middle English | line | rope, cord; line, rule, ruler, measure; rule,... |
| 3 | Old English | līne | line, rope, cord; line, cable, rope, hawser,... |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | *līnā | line, chord, rope, string |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | līnǭ | that which is made of flax; line, chord, rope,... |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | līną | flax |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | līno- | flax |