Where does “childcare” come from?
Childcare is a Modern English compound of child and care, with child deriving from Old English cild, a word of uncertain ultimate origin.
childcare (English): The act, practice, or occupation of supervising...
Definitions
- The act, practice, or occupation of supervising...
Ancestry of “childcare”, step by step
childcare traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Child
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Child | Alternative letter-case form of child "often used... |
| 2 | Middle English | childen | To deliver a child; to beget or procreate; 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 care
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | care | Grief, sorrow; Close attention; concern;... |
| 2 | Middle English | care | grief; sorrow |
| 3 | Old English | caru | worry, anxiety, care; sorrow, grief |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | karu | care, worry |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | karō | complaint, lament, grievance, moan; worry,... |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵeh₂r- | to shout, cry; exclamation; voice; to call, cry |