Where does “downpipe” come from?
downpipe (English) comes from English pipe, from Middle English pīpe, from Middle English pipen, from Old English pīpian, from Proto-West Germanic pīpan, from Proto-Germanic pīpaną, from Latin pipo — I pip, peep.
downpipe (English): The drainpipe that connects a roof-line gutter...
Definitions
- The drainpipe that connects a roof-line gutter...
Ancestry of “downpipe”, step by step
downpipe traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English pipe
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | pipe | Meanings relating to a wind instrument; Meanings... |
| 2 | Middle English | pīpe | A pipe; a piece of tubing used as a channel (often for fluids) |
| 3 | Middle English | pipen | To use a pipe or similar musical instrument; to... |
| 4 | Old English | pīpian | to pipe |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | pīpan | to peep, to chirp, to squeak |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | pīpaną | To chirp or pipe like a bird or rodent; To talk... |
| 7 | Latin | pipo | I pip, peep |