Where does “choirboy” come from?
choirboy (English) comes from English choir, from Middle English quer, from Old French cuer, from Vulgar Latin *corem, from Latin cor, from Proto-Italic kord, from Proto-Indo-European ḱḗr — heart.
choirboy (English): A boy chorister; A piously innocent person
Definitions
- A boy chorister; A piously innocent person
Ancestry of “choirboy”, step by step
choirboy traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English choir
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | choir | Singing group; group of people who sing together;... |
| 2 | Middle English | quer | A choir singers who musically accompany a liturgy |
| 3 | Old French | cuer | heart |
| 4 | Vulgar Latin | *corem | — |
| 5 | Latin | cor | heart; soul, mind |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | kord | heart |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱḗr | heart |
via English boy
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | boy | A young male; A male child: a son of any age; A... |
| 2 | Middle English | boye | servant, commoner, knave, boy |
| 3 | Old English | bōia | boy |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | bōjô | younger brother, young male relation |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | bō- | A stem meaning "father, brother, close male... |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰā- | to say |