Where does “hairbreadth” come from?
Hairbreadth combines English hair with breadth, where hair derives from Middle English her, Old English hǣr, and Anglo-Norman eir, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots related to growth and extension.
hairbreadth (English): the width of a hair, a very short distance or a...
Definitions
- the width of a hair, a very short distance or a...
Ancestry of “hairbreadth”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | Hair | — |
| 2 | Middle English | hēr | — |
| 3 | Old English | hēr | at this place |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | *hēr | — |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | hē₂r | here, in this place |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱe | Deictic particle, here; Post-positional... |
| 7 | Middle English | kyt | — |
| 8 | German | kitt | — |
| 9 | Old High German | kuti | — |
| 10 | Proto-West Germanic | kwidu | gum, resin |
| 11 | Proto-Germanic | kweduz | resin |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷet- | resin, gum; to say, speak |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | gū- | to bend; curve; arch; vault; to bow, bend, arch,... |