Where does “chainsaw” come from?
Chainsaw is a compound of chain, from Middle English chaine via Old English sagu and Latin catena, with ultimate roots in Proto-Indo-European kat-, and saw, from Proto-Indo-European sekʷe- and sek-.
chainsaw (English): A saw that has a power-driven and fast-revolving...
Definitions
- A saw that has a power-driven and fast-revolving...
Ancestry of “chainsaw”, step by step
chainsaw traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English saw
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | saw | A tool with a toothed blade used for cutting hard... |
| 2 | Middle English | sawe | Alternative form of sauf |
| 3 | Old English | saga | saw; saying; statement; story, tale; narrative |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | sagā | story |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | sagǭ | story |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | sekʷe- | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | sekʷ- | to follow; to see; to say |