Where does “gunfight” come from?
Gunfight is a compound of gun and fight, where fight derives from Proto-Germanic fehtaną and Proto-Indo-European peḱ-, meaning to strike or pluck.
gunfight (English): A battle using small arms; To engage in battle...
Definitions
- A battle using small arms; To engage in battle...
Ancestry of “gunfight”, step by step
gunfight traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English gun
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | gun | A device for projecting a hard object very... |
| 2 | Middle English | gunne | A trebuchet or similar kind of pellet-firing... |
| 3 | Old Norse | Gunnhildr | — |
| 4 | Old Norse | Gunnr | battle, war |
| 5 | Old Norse | guðr | battle, war |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | gunþiz | battle |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷʰéntis | striking, killing |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷʰen- | to strike, slay, kill |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰon- | — |
via English fight
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | fight | To contend in physical conflict, either singly or... |
| 2 | Middle English | fighten | Simple past faght and past participle foghten... |
| 3 | Old English | feohtan | to fight |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | fehtan | to fight |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | fehtaną | to comb, detangle |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | peḱ- | to pluck; livestock; wealth |