Where does “crackpot” come from?
I notice there's a significant problem with this chain: it doesn't support the etymology of "crackpot" at all. The chain shows: - English pot → Middle English pot → Old English cracian → PIE gerh₂- → Latin possum This sequence doesn't actually lead to "crackpot," and the steps don't connect logically (Old English "cracian" to PIE "gerh₂-" to Latin "possum" is broken). Additionally, the meaning of "crackpot" (an eccentric or crazy person) isn't explained by these etymons. I cannot write an accurate one-sentence etymology summary because the provided chain doesn't support the word "crackpot." Could you provide: 1. Clarification on whether "crackpot" or "pot" is the headword? 2. A corrected etymological chain? 3. The
crackpot (English): An eccentric, crazy or foolish person. A "kook";...
Definitions
- An eccentric, crazy or foolish person. A "kook";...
Ancestry of “crackpot”, step by step
crackpot traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English pot
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | pot | A flat-bottomed vessel used for cooking food;... |
| 2 | Middle English | pot | A pot; a circular receptacle or vessel; The top... |
| 3 | Old French | pot | pot; third-person singular present indicative of... |
| 4 | Vulgar Latin | pottum | — |
| 5 | Frankish | *pott | — |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | puttaz | pot, jar, tub |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | budn- | a kind of vessel; type of vessel; a type of... |