Where does “haircut” come from?
Haircut is a compound of hair and cut, with hair deriving from Old English hǣr through Middle English her, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ker- meaning to grow or cut.
haircut (English): The act of cutting of the hair, often done...
Definitions
- The act of cutting of the hair, often done...
Ancestry of “haircut”, 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,... |