Where does “freehand” come from?
I need to note an issue: the etymological chain provided doesn't support "freehand" as a compound. The chain traces a path from Proto-Indo-European through various languages to English "hand," but "freehand" is a compound word requiring the etymology of both "free" and "hand."
Additionally, the chain itself appears problematic—it shows "hand" deriving from Proto-Indo-European roots (prēy- and ḱwṓ) that don't typically connect to the established Germanic and Indo-European etymology of that word.
I cannot write an accurate one-sentence summary that names every language in this specific chain while being truthful about what it actually supports.
Could you clarify: Is this the correct chain for "freehand," or should I be working with a different headword or corrected chain?
freehand (English): Drawn using the hand without any helping device;...
Definitions
- Drawn using the hand without any helping device;...
Ancestry of “freehand”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | Free | — |
| 2 | English | faller | One who falls; A fruit that falls from the tree,... |
| 3 | English | -er | A person or thing that does an action indicated... |
| 4 | Middle English | -er | agentive suffix; agent noun suffix |
| 5 | Old French | -er | Alternative form of -ier, verbal suffix;... |
| 6 | Latin | -āre | — |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | -āō | Forms primarily denominative verbs |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -eh₂yéti | Creates iterative/ frequentative/ intensive... |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -yéti | Creates intransitive, often deponent,... |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | yé- | — |
| 11 | Chichewa | iye | he, she |