Where does “couch potato” come from?
couch potato (English) comes from English Couch, from Middle English couche, from Old French couche, from Old French couchier, from Latin collocō, from Latin cōn-, from Latin cum, from Old Latin com — to bend; curve; arch; vault; to bow, bend, arch,...
couch potato (English): A person who spends a lot of time sitting or...
Definitions
- A person who spends a lot of time sitting or...
Ancestry of “couch potato”, step by step
couch potato traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Couch
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Couch | An item of furniture, often upholstered, for the comfortable seating of more than one person; a sofa |
| 2 | Middle English | couche | A bed; A bedroom; the room where one sleeps in; A... |
| 3 | Old French | couche | — |
| 4 | Old French | couchier | to go to bed; to have sex; bedtime |
| 5 | Latin | collocō | to place, put, set in order, assign, arrange |
| 6 | Latin | cōn- | Used in compounds to indicate a being or bringing together of several objects |
| 7 | Latin | cum | with, along with; at; -fold |
| 8 | Old Latin | com | Alternative form of cum |
| 9 | Proto-Italic | kom | with, along, at |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱóm | beside, near, by, with |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱe | Deictic particle, here; Post-positional... |
| 12 | Middle English | kyt | — |
| 13 | German | kitt | putty certain kinds of cement used for fixing e.g. window panes |
| 14 | Old High German | kuti | — |
| 15 | Proto-West Germanic | kwidu | gum, resin |
| 16 | Proto-Germanic | kweduz | resin |
| 17 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷet- | resin, gum; to say, speak |
| 18 | Proto-Indo-European | gū- | to bend; curve; arch; vault; to bow, bend, arch,... |