Where does “flywheel” come from?
Flywheel is a compound of fly (from Middle English flien, Old English flȳġe, Proto-Germanic fleuganą, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European kʷel- meaning to turn or move round) and wheel (from Old English hwēol, Proto-Germanic hwewlą, Proto-Indo-European kʷékʷlos).
flywheel (English): A rotating mass used to maintain the speed of a...
Definitions
- A rotating mass used to maintain the speed of a...
Ancestry of “flywheel”, step by step
flywheel traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English fly
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | fly | Any insect of the order Diptera; characterized by... |
| 2 | Middle English | flien | To fly; to travel in the air; To move in the sky;... |
| 3 | Old English | flēogan | to fly |
| 4 | Old English | -ende | equivalent of English -ing; suffix for present... |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | *-andī | — |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | -andz | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -ónts | Derives nouns denoting body parts |
| 8 | Hungarian | önt | to pour; to cast; accusative singular of ön |
| 9 | Hungarian | ön | you |
| 10 | Hungarian | ön- | self- |
| 11 | Turkish | ön | front |
| 12 | Ottoman Turkish | اوك | voice (of human or animal); sound |
| 13 | Proto-Turkic | ǖn | sound, voice |
via English wheel
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | wheel | A circular device capable of rotating on its... |
| 2 | Middle English | whel | A wheel circular device for motion |
| 3 | Old English | hwēol | wheel |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | hweulō | nominative/vocative/accusative plural of *hwehwlą |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | kʷékʷléh₂ | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | kʷékʷlos | wheel; circle |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | kʷel- | to turn |