Where does “catchphrase” come from?
catchphrase (English) comes from English catch, from Middle English cacchen, from Anglo-Norman cachier, from Vulgar Latin coacticare, from Latin coactō, from Latin coactus, from Latin cōgō, from Latin cōn- — resin.
catchphrase (English): A group of words, often originating in popular...
Definitions
- A group of words, often originating in popular...
Ancestry of “catchphrase”, step by step
catchphrase traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English catch
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | catch | The act of seizing or capturing; The act of... |
| 2 | Middle English | cacchen | to catch |
| 3 | Anglo-Norman | cachier | to hide; Alternative form of chacier |
| 4 | Vulgar Latin | coacticare | present active infinitive of *coacticō |
| 5 | Latin | coactō | to compel, constrain, force |
| 6 | Latin | coactus | forced, compelled, having been forced; urged,... |
| 7 | Latin | cōgō | to collect, assemble, gather together |
| 8 | Latin | cōn- | Used in compounds to indicate a being or bringing together of several objects |
| 9 | Latin | cum | with, along with; at; -fold |
| 10 | Old Latin | com | Alternative form of cum |
| 11 | Proto-Italic | kom | with, along, at |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱóm | beside, near, by, with |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱe | Deictic particle, here; Post-positional... |
| 14 | Middle English | kyt | — |
| 15 | German | kitt | putty certain kinds of cement used for fixing e.g. window panes |
| 16 | Old High German | kuti | — |
| 17 | Proto-West Germanic | kwidu | gum, resin |
| 18 | Proto-Germanic | kweduz | resin |
via English phrase
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | phrase | A short written or spoken expression; A word or... |
| 2 | Late Latin | phrasis | diction |
| 3 | Ancient Greek | φράσις | speech; way of speaking, expression; expression,... |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | φράζω | to make known, point out, intimate, show; to... |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | φράσσω | to fence in, hedge around, secure, fortify; to... |