Where does “buck-passing” come from?
buck-passing (English) comes from English passing, from English pass, from English passé, from French passé, from French passer, from Middle French passer, from Old French passer, from Vulgar Latin passare — to hate, hurt.
buck-passing (English): Blameshifting; the act of absolving oneself of responsibility or concern for a given matter by claiming to lack authority or jurisdiction
Definitions
- Blameshifting; the act of absolving oneself of responsibility or concern for a given matter by claiming to lack authority or jurisdiction
Ancestry of “buck-passing”, step by step
buck-passing traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English passing
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | passing | present participle of pass; That passes away;... |
| 2 | English | pass | "To change place."; "To change in state or... |
| 3 | English | passé | Dated; out of style; old-fashioned; Past one's... |
| 4 | French | passé | past tense; past; last |
| 5 | French | passer | to go past; to cross; to pass |
| 6 | Middle French | passer | to pass; to go by |
| 7 | Old French | passer | to pass; to pass by |
| 8 | Vulgar Latin | passare | to walk, pass; step, walk, pass; present active... |
| 9 | Latin | passus | spread out; dried; step |
| 10 | Latin | patior | I suffer, endure; I allow, acquiesce, permit,... |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | peh₁- | to hate, hurt |
via English buck
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | buck | A male deer, antelope, sheep, goat, rabbit, hare,... |
| 2 | Middle English | bukke | male goat; male deer or roe |
| 3 | Old English | būc | belly, stomach; belly, stomach, pitcher; belly,... |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | *būk | — |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | būkaz | belly, abdomen; body |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰōw- | to inflate, swell; to swell, grow, thrive, be,... |