Where does “downcase” come from?

downcase (English) comes from English Case, from German Käse, from Middle High German kæse, from Old High German kāsi, from Proto-West Germanic kāsī, from Proto-Germanic kāsijaz, from Latin cāseus, from Proto-Indo-European kwat- — to ferment, become sour; to boil.

downcase (English): To convert to lower case

Definitions

  1. To convert to lower case

Ancestry of “downcase”, step by step

downcase traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English Case

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishCaseabstract feature of a noun phrase that determines...
2GermanKäsecheese; nonsense
3Middle High Germankæsecheese
4Old High Germankāsicheese
5Proto-West Germanickāsīcheese
6Proto-Germanickāsijazcheese
7Latincāseuscheese
8Proto-Indo-Europeankwat-to ferment, become sour; to boil

via English Down

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishDownusually known as County Down
2Middle Englishdoundown
3Old Englishdūnhill, down; hill, dune; hill, mountain
4Proto-Germanic*dūnā—
5Proto-Celticdūnomstronghold, rampart
6Proto-Indo-Europeandʰewh₂-smoke; mist, haze
Every word from Proto-Indo-European kwat- →Every word from Latin cāseus →Every word from Proto-Germanic kāsijaz →