Where does “flaky” come from?
Flaky comes from Middle English -y, Middle French -ie, Latin -ia, Latin -ivus, and ultimately Proto-Indo-European -kos, a diminutive suffix that formed adjectives from nouns.
flaky (English): Consisting of flakes or of small, loose masses;...
Definitions
- Consisting of flakes or of small, loose masses;...
Ancestry of “flaky”, step by step
flaky traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English flake
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | flake | A loose filmy mass or a thin chiplike layer of... |
| 2 | Middle English | flake | a flake of snow |
| 3 | Old Norse | flak | loose or torn piece |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | flaką | something flat |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | pleh₂- | flat |
via Middle High German vlëcke
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle High German | vlëcke | — |