Where does “desktop” come from?
Desktop comes from English desk and top, with desk from Middle English deske, Old English top, Proto-Germanic tuppaz meaning peak or summit, and Proto-Indo-European dumb- meaning to build or heap.
desktop (English): The top surface of a desk; A desktop computer;...
Definitions
- The top surface of a desk; A desktop computer;...
Ancestry of “desktop”, step by step
desktop traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English desk
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | desk | A table, frame, or case, in past centuries... |
| 2 | Middle English | deske | Alternative form of dosk |
| 3 | Medieval Latin | desca | — |
| 4 | Old Italian | desco | — |
| 5 | Latin | discus | a discus, quoit; a dish shaped like a discus;... |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | diskō | learn |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | dikskō | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | di-dḱ-ské-ti | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | deḱ- | take; perceive |
via English top
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | top | The highest or uppermost part of something; A... |
| 2 | Middle English | top | The summit or top of something, especially a... |
| 3 | Old English | topp | top, summit (of something) |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | *topp | top, summit, crest |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | tuppaz | tuft, plait; top, summit |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | dumb- | tail, rod, staff, pole, penis; tail, rod, staff,... |