Where does “cheese up” come from?
cheese up (English) comes from English up, from Middle English up, from Old English upp, from Proto-West Germanic *upp.
cheese up (English): To add cheese to; make cheesy or cheesier
Definitions
- To add cheese to; make cheesy or cheesier
Ancestry of “cheese up”, step by step
cheese up traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English up
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | up | Away from the surface of the Earth or other... |
| 2 | Middle English | up | to a vertical axis |
| 3 | Old English | upp | up; upstairs |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | *upp | — |
via English cheese
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | cheese | A dairy product made from curdled or cultured... |
| 2 | English | cheesy | Overdramatic, excessively emotional or clichéd,... |
| 3 | Middle English | chesy | — |