Where does “cockleshell” come from?
cockleshell (English) comes from English cockle, from French coquille, from Vulgar Latin conchilia, from Latin conchylium, from Ancient Greek κογχύλιον, from Ancient Greek -ῐον, from Proto-Indo-European -yós — Creates adjectives from noun or verb stems.
cockleshell (English): The shell of a cockle; A small, flimsy boat
Definitions
- The shell of a cockle; A small, flimsy boat
Ancestry of “cockleshell”, step by step
cockleshell traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English cockle
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | cockle | Any of various edible European bivalve mollusks,... |
| 2 | French | coquille | shell; dish; scallop; typo, misprint |
| 3 | Vulgar Latin | conchilia | — |
| 4 | Latin | conchylium | shellfish; oyster; purple |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | κογχύλιον | small mussel |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | -ῐον | diminutive suffix; "suffix forming... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -yós | Creates adjectives from noun or verb stems |
via English Shell
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Shell | A diminutive of the female given name Michelle or Shelly |
| 2 | Middle English | schelle | — |
| 3 | Old English | sċiell | shell |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | skallju | scale; shell |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | skaljō | shell; husk; rind; peel |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)kelH- | to cut; to split, to separate |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)kel- | to bend, crook; bent, crooked; leg, heel, knee,... |