Where does “dragline” come from?

dragline (English) comes from English line, from Middle English line, from Old English līne, from Proto-West Germanic *līnā, from Proto-Germanic līnǭ, from Proto-Germanic līną, from Proto-Indo-European līno- — flax.

dragline (English): A cable, cord, or rope used to drag an object;...

Definitions

  1. A cable, cord, or rope used to drag an object;...

Ancestry of “dragline”, step by step

dragline traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English line

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishlineA path through two or more points (compare ‘segment’); a continuous mark, including as made by a pen; any path, curved or straight
2Middle Englishlinerope, cord; line, rule, ruler, measure; rule,...
3Old Englishlīneline, rope, cord; line, cable, rope, hawser,...
4Proto-West Germanic*līnāline, chord, rope, string
5Proto-Germaniclīnǭthat which is made of flax; line, chord, rope,...
6Proto-Germaniclīnąflax
7Proto-Indo-Europeanlīno-flax

via English drag

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishdragResistance of a fluid to something moving through...
2Yiddishטראָגןcarry; wear
3Middle High Germantragento bear, to carry
4Old High Germantraganto bear; to bear fruit
5Proto-Germanicdragan
6Proto-Germanicdraganąto draw, to pull, to carry
7Proto-Indo-Europeandʰreǵ-pull, draw, drag; to glide, swoop; to draw, glide

Words derived from “dragline

Every word from Proto-Indo-European līno-