Where does “dunderhead” come from?
dunderhead (English) comes from English head, from English -y, from Middle English -y, from Old English -iġ, from Proto-West Germanic -g, from Proto-Germanic -gaz, from Proto-Indo-European -ḱos — -y, -ic.
dunderhead (English): A stupid person; a dunce
Definitions
- A stupid person; a dunce
Ancestry of “dunderhead”, step by step
dunderhead traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English head
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | head | The part of the body of an animal or human which... |
| 2 | English | -y | Added to nouns and adjectives to form adjectives... |
| 3 | Middle English | -y | Designates an adjective, in many cases formed by... |
| 4 | Old English | -iġ | -y, -ic |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | -g | Forms adjectives from nouns and verbs with a... |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | -gaz | -y |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -ḱos | -y, -ic |
via English dunder
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | dunder | The lees or dregs of cane juice, used in the... |
| 2 | English | under | In or at a lower level than; As a subject of;... |
| 3 | Middle English | under | under |
| 4 | Old English | under | under, beneath |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | under | among, between; under, beneath; under |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁entér | between |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁en | in; in, inside |