Where does “guidewire” come from?
Guidewire comes from English guide combined with wire, where guide derives from Middle English guiden, from Old French guide, from Old Occitan guida and guidar, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots meaning to go or see.
guidewire (English): A wire used to restrict and control the movement...
Definitions
- A wire used to restrict and control the movement...
Ancestry of “guidewire”, step by step
guidewire traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English wire
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | wire | Metal formed into a thin, even thread, now... |
| 2 | Middle English | wir | — |
| 3 | Old English | wīr | wire, metal thread, wire-ornament |
| 4 | English | myrtle | An evergreen shrub or small tree of the genus... |
| 5 | Old French | myrte | — |
| 6 | Latin | myrtus | myrtle |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | μύρτος | myrtle; twig or spray of myrtle |
| 8 | Ancient Greek | μυρίκη | tamarisk |
| 9 | Ancient Greek | -ίκη | — |
via English Guide
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Guide | OS grid ref SD7025 |
| 2 | Middle English | guide | — |
| 3 | Old French | guide | a guide |
| 4 | Occitan | guida | — |
| 5 | Occitan | guidar | to guide, to lead |
| 6 | Frankish | wītan | to show the way, lead; to accuse, to blame |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | *witaną | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | wóyde | to have seen, to know |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | weyd- | to see |