Where does “buttons” come from?
Buttons comes from Middle English butonen, from Old French boton, derived from Old French bouter and Frankish buttan, ultimately from Proto-Germanic bautaną and Proto-Indo-European bʰewd- and bʰew-.
buttons (English): plural of button; The dung of sheep; A remote...
Definitions
- plural of button; The dung of sheep; A remote...
Ancestry of “buttons”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | button | A knob or disc that is passed through a loop or (buttonhole), serving as a fastener |
| 2 | French | bouton | button; bud; pimple, spot, zit |
| 3 | Italian | bottone | button; bud |
| 4 | Spanish | botón | button; key; bud |
| 5 | Old French | boton | — |
| 6 | Old French | bouter | to strike; to hit; to place; to put; to enter |
| 7 | Frankish | bautan | to push, strike, beat; to hit, strike; to hit,... |
| 8 | Proto-West Germanic | bautan | to beat |
| 9 | Proto-Germanic | bautaną | to beat, push |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰewd- | to hit, strike; to beat, push; to strike, push,... |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰew- | to grow, swell; to swell, wax, grow; to blow; to... |