Where does “gridiron football” come from?
gridiron football (English) comes from English football, from Middle English fotbal, from Middle English bal, from Old English beall, from English beal, from Old English hyll, from Albanian hulli, from Proto-Germanic hulliz — to rise, to be tall; hill.
gridiron football (English): collectively, Canadian football and American...
Definitions
- collectively, Canadian football and American...
Ancestry of “gridiron football”, step by step
gridiron football traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English football
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | football | A sport played on foot in which teams attempt to... |
| 2 | Middle English | fotbal | football game played with a ball; ancestor of soccer, American football, and rugby |
| 3 | Middle English | bal | A ball; A rounded or spherical lump or bump,... |
| 4 | Old English | beall | ball |
| 5 | English | beal | A small inflammatory tumor; pustule; To gather... |
| 6 | Old English | hyll | hill |
| 7 | Albanian | hulli | furrow |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | hulliz | hill |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | kl̥Hnís | hill |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | kelH- | to rise, to be tall; hill |
via English gridiron
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | gridiron | An instrument of torture on which people were... |