Where does “eardrum” come from?
Eardrum comes from Middle Dutch trommelslach, combining trommel (drum) from Proto-Indo-European ker- (to strike) and slach (blow), ultimately tracing to h₂ous- (ear).
eardrum (English): A thin membrane that separates the outer ear from...
Definitions
- A thin membrane that separates the outer ear from...
Ancestry of “eardrum”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | drum | A percussive musical instrument spanned with a... |
| 2 | English | drumslade | A drum; A drummer |
| 3 | Middle Dutch | trommelslach | drumbeat |
| 4 | Middle Dutch | slach | beat |
| 5 | Old Dutch | slag | — |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | slagi | blow, strike |
| 7 | Swedish | slagg | — |
| 8 | Low German | slagge | — |
| 9 | Middle Low German | slagge | — |
| 10 | Middle Low German | slān | to hit, strike |
| 11 | Old Saxon | slāhan | — |
| 12 | Proto-West Germanic | slahan | to hit, to strike; to kill |
| 13 | Proto-Germanic | slahaną | to hit, to strike; to kill |
| 14 | Proto-Indo-European | slak- | to hit; strike; to hit, strike, throw; to hit,... |