Where does “flinty” come from?
Flinty comes from Middle English -y, Middle French -ie, Latin -ia, Latin -ivus, Latin -ia, Proto-Indo-European -kos, and Proto-Indo-European -kos, forming an adjective suffix chain.
flinty (English): Resembling or containing flint; Siliceous;...
Definitions
- Resembling or containing flint; Siliceous;...
Ancestry of “flinty”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Flint | A placename |
| 2 | Middle English | flynt | Any of a group of solid stones, especially... |
| 3 | Old English | flint | flint |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | *flint | peddle |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | flintaz | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | splind- | to split, cleave; split |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)plei- | to split, splice; to divide, split, splice |