Where does “breastheight” come from?

breastheight (English) comes from English breast, from Middle English brest, from Old English brēost, from Proto-West Germanic breust, from Proto-Germanic breustą, from Proto-Indo-European bʰrews- — to break.

breastheight (English): The typical height above ground of an adult's breast, used as a reference height for measuring the diameters of trees

Definitions

  1. The typical height above ground of an adult's breast, used as a reference height for measuring the diameters of trees

Ancestry of “breastheight”, step by step

breastheight traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English breast

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishbreastEither of the two organs on the front of a female...
2Middle Englishbrestchest, thorax; The breast in several contexts;...
3Old Englishbrēostchest
4Proto-West Germanicbreustbreast, chest
5Proto-Germanicbreustąbreast, chest
6Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰrews-to break

via English height

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishheightThe distance from the base of something to the...
2Middle Englishheighte
3Old Englishhēahþu
4Proto-Germanichauhiþōheight
5Proto-Germanichauhazhigh
6Proto-Indo-Europeanḱewk-flare up, glow; white; to glow, burn, lighten
Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰrews-
breastheight — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer