Where does “dovetail” come from?
Dovetail comes from English tail and English drive, from Middle English driven, from Old English drīfan, tracing back through Proto-Indo-European doḱ-, deḱ-, and dʰer-.
dovetail (English): a type of joint where adjoining boards are...
Definitions
- a type of joint where adjoining boards are...
Ancestry of “dovetail”, step by step
dovetail traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English dove
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | dove | A pigeon, especially one smaller in size and white-colored; a bird (often arbitrarily called either a pigeon or a dove or both) of more than three hundred species of the family Columbidae |
| 2 | Middle English | douve | A dove, pigeon, or similar bird; An affectionate... |
| 3 | Old English | dūfe | dove, pigeon |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | dūbǭ | dove, pigeon |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | dʰewbʰ- | deep |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | dʰewh₂- | smoke; mist, haze |
via English Tail
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Tail | A Chinese constellation coinciding with the tail of Scorpius, one of the 28 lunar mansions and the tail of Azure Dragon |
| 2 | Middle English | tayl | A tail; The back side or reverse of a creature; A... |
| 3 | Old English | tæġl | tail |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | taglą | hair; ponytail; hair of a tail; tail |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | doḱ- | hair of the tail |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | deḱ- | take; perceive |