Where does “eyelock” come from?

eyelock (English) comes from English Eye, from English -some, from Middle English -som, from Old English sum, from Proto-West Germanic *sum, from Proto-Germanic sumaz, from Proto-Indo-European sem- — together, one.

eyelock (English): An occurrence of mutual staring, where each person gazes fixedly into the other's eyes

Definitions

  1. An occurrence of mutual staring, where each person gazes fixedly into the other's eyes

Ancestry of “eyelock”, step by step

eyelock traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English Eye

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishEyeA place name
2English-someCharacterized by some specific condition or...
3Middle English-somsome; having a specific quality
4Old Englishsumsome
5Proto-West Germanic*sumsome
6Proto-Germanicsumazsome (one), a certain (one)
7Proto-Indo-Europeansem-together, one

via English Lock

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishLockfrom the surname
2Middle Englishloklock
3Old Englishlācplay, sport, strife, battle, sacrifice, offering,...
4Proto-West Germaniclaikgame, sport
5Proto-Germaniclaikazdance; game, sport; hymn
6Proto-Indo-Europeanleyǵ-to bind, tie
Every word from Proto-Indo-European sem-Every word from Proto-Germanic sumazEvery word from Proto-West Germanic *sum