Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “bucketful” come from?

Bucketful comes from English bucket combined with the Middle English suffix -ful, with bucket deriving from Anglo-Norman buket, ultimately from Proto-Germanic bukkaz and Proto-Indo-European roots.

bucketful (English): the quantity contained in a bucket; a large...

Definitions

  1. the quantity contained in a bucket; a large...

Ancestry of “bucketful”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishbucketA container made of rigid material, often with a...
2Middle Englishboket—
3Anglo-Normanbukettub, pail; bucket
4Old Frenchbucabdomen; object with a cavity; trunk, torso;...
5Latinbuccushe-goat
6Frankishbukkmale goat; buck, goat; buck, male goat
7Proto-Germanic*bukkaz—
8Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰuǵ-buck, he-goat
9Proto-North CaucasianbVχc̣V—
10Proto-North CaucasianbVc̣Vyoung he-goat
Every word from Proto-North Caucasian bVc̣V →