Where does “chicken-hearted” come from?
chicken-hearted (English) comes from English Chicken, from English -en, from Middle English -en, from Old English -en, from Old Norse -inn, from Proto-Norse -īna-, from Proto-Germanic -īnaz, from Proto-Indo-European -iHnos — adjectival suffix.
chicken-hearted (English): Not brave; lacking courage; cowardly
Definitions
- Not brave; lacking courage; cowardly
Ancestry of “chicken-hearted”, step by step
chicken-hearted traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Chicken
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Chicken | A domesticated subspecies of red junglefowl (Gallus gallus domesticus) |
| 2 | English | -en | Denotes the past participle form when attached to... |
| 3 | Middle English | -en | Denotes the past participle form when attached to... |
| 4 | Old English | -en | mæġþ + API → mæġden; cocc + API → cycen, cicen;... |
| 5 | Old Norse | -inn | Used to create adjectives from nouns, meaning... |
| 6 | Proto-Norse | -īna- | — |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | -īnaz | -en |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -iHnos | Creates adjectives of materials |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -no- | adjectival suffix |
via English hearted
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | hearted | simple past tense and past participle of heart;... |
| 2 | Middle English | herted | Having a specified disposition, emotion, or... |
| 3 | Middle English | herte | The heart; One's inner self; the mind or... |
| 4 | Old English | heorte | heart |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | hertā | heart |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | hertô | heart |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱḗr | heart |