Where does “coastwise” come from?
Coastwise derives from Middle English -wis, Old French coste meaning "rib or side," Latin costa, and Proto-Indo-European kost-.
coastwise (English): Along the coast
Ancestry of “coastwise”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | coast | The edge of the land where it meets an ocean,... |
| 2 | Middle English | coste | — |
| 3 | Old French | costé | side |
| 4 | Latin | costātus | — |
| 5 | Latin | costa | a rib; a side, a wall |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | kost- | — |