Where does “cage-free” come from?
cage-free (English) comes from English Free, from English faller, from English -er, from Middle English -er, from Old French -er, from Latin -āre, from Proto-Italic -āō, from Proto-Indo-European -eh₂yéti — he, she.
cage-free (English): Being or relating to chickens not raised in battery cages, but free to roam within a certain space
Definitions
- Being or relating to chickens not raised in battery cages, but free to roam within a certain space
Ancestry of “cage-free”, step by step
cage-free traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Free
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Free | Unconstrained |
| 2 | English | faller | One who falls; A fruit that falls from the tree,... |
| 3 | English | -er | A person or thing that does an action indicated... |
| 4 | Middle English | -er | agentive suffix; agent noun suffix |
| 5 | Old French | -er | Alternative form of -ier, verbal suffix;... |
| 6 | Latin | -āre | first conjugation |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | -āō | Forms primarily denominative verbs |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -eh₂yéti | Creates iterative/ frequentative/ intensive... |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -yéti | Creates intransitive, often deponent,... |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | yé- | — |
| 11 | Chichewa | iye | he, she |
via English Cage
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Cage | An enclosure made of spaced bars, normally to hold animals while providing some ventilation |
| 2 | Middle English | cage | A cage or pen; A cell, enclosure or room of... |
| 3 | Old French | cage | — |
| 4 | Latin | cavea | hollow, cavity; cage, den, enclosure, stall,... |
| 5 | Latin | cavus | hollow, concave; excavated, channeled;... |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | kawos | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱowh₁ós | hollow |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱewh₁- | to swell; to be strong |