Where does “cantilever” come from?
Cantilever comes from English lever and Latin cantus, canthus, and levis, with the senses developing from "light" or "edge" through musical or projecting meanings.
cantilever (English): A beam anchored at one end and projecting into...
Definitions
- A beam anchored at one end and projecting into...
Ancestry of “cantilever”, step by step
cantilever traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English lever
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | lever | A crowbar; A rigid piece which is capable of... |
| 2 | French | lever | To raise, lift; To rise, stand up; To get up |
| 3 | Middle French | lever | to lift |
| 4 | Old French | lever | to lift; to get up |
| 5 | Latin | levō | to raise, elevate, lift up |
| 6 | Latin | lēvis | light, not heavy |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | leɣʷis | light |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁léngʰus | lightweight |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁lengʷʰ- | light |
via English cant
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | cant | An argot, the jargon of a particular class or... |
| 2 | Middle English | cant | bold, lively, cant |
| 3 | Middle Low German | kant | — |
| 4 | Middle Dutch | kant | — |
| 5 | Latin | canthus | the iron ring around a carriage wheel; the tire;... |
| 6 | Gaulish | cantos | — |
| 7 | Proto-Celtic | cantos | corner, rim |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | kh₂ndʰ | — |