Where does “egghead” come from?
egghead (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.
egghead (English): A bald person, especially a man; A bald head; A...
Definitions
- A bald person, especially a man; A bald head; A...
Ancestry of “egghead”, step by step
egghead 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 egg
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | egg | An approximately spherical or ellipsoidal body... |
| 2 | Middle English | eggen | To egg on; to encourage or provide motivation; To... |
| 3 | Old Saxon | eggian | to harrow |
| 4 | Old Norse | eggja | to incite, egg on to do |
| 5 | Old Norse | egg | egg; edge |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | agjō | edge, corner |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂eḱ- | sharp |