Where does “flagstaff” come from?
Flagstaff is a compound of English flag and English staff, where staff derives from Old English stæf, Proto-Germanic stabaz, and Proto-Indo-European pel-, meaning to split or fold.
flagstaff (English): A pole on which a flag is raised
Definitions
- A pole on which a flag is raised
Ancestry of “flagstaff”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | flag | A piece of cloth, often decorated with an emblem,... |
| 2 | English | flack | To flutter; palpitate; To hang loosely; flag; To... |
| 3 | Middle English | flacken | to palpitate, flutter; to move to and fro,... |
| 4 | German | flackern | to flicker |
| 5 | Middle High German | vlackern | — |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | flakuraz | shaking, wavering |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | plāg- | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | pelə- | to wander; to fill |