Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “brinkmanship” come from?

brinkmanship (English) comes from English -manship, from English -ship, from Middle English -schipe, from Old English -sċiepe, from Proto-West Germanic -skapi, from Proto-Germanic -skapiz, from Proto-Germanic skapjaną, from Proto-Indo-European skab- — to cut, split, hew, shape; to cut, split, carve,...

brinkmanship (English): Pursuit of an advantage by appearing to be...

Definitions

  1. Pursuit of an advantage by appearing to be...

Ancestry of “brinkmanship”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1English-manshipExpertise, involvement, or special status in an...
2English-shipAppended to a noun to form a new noun denoting a...
3Middle English-schipeAffixed to nouns and adjectives to form nouns...
4Old English-sċiepe—
5Proto-West Germanic-skapiForms nouns denoting state, originally meaning...
6Proto-Germanic-skapizForms nouns denoting state, originally meaning...
7Proto-Germanicskapjanąto make, to create; to shape
8Proto-Indo-Europeanskab-to cut, split, hew, shape; to cut, split, carve,...
Every word from Proto-Indo-European skab- →