Where does “crankcase” come from?
Crankcase is a compound of crank and case, where crank derives from Middle English cronk, Old English cranc, Latin casus meaning "fall" or "chance," from cadere meaning "to fall," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European keh₂p- meaning "to seize."
crankcase (English): The part of an engine that contains the...
Definitions
- The part of an engine that contains the...
Ancestry of “crankcase”, step by step
crankcase traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Case
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Case | abstract feature of a noun phrase that determines... |
| 2 | German | Käse | cheese; nonsense |
| 3 | Middle High German | kæse | cheese |
| 4 | Old High German | kāsi | cheese |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | kāsī | cheese |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | kāsijaz | cheese |
| 7 | Latin | cāseus | cheese |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | kwat- | to ferment, become sour; to boil |