Where does “hammerhead” come from?
Hammerhead comes from English hammer and head, where head derives from Middle English hede, Old English hēafod, Proto-Germanic haubudą, and Proto-Indo-European kauput-, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots meaning to strike or cut.
hammerhead (English): The portion of a hammer containing the metal...
Definitions
- The portion of a hammer containing the metal...
Ancestry of “hammerhead”, step by step
hammerhead traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Hammer
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Hammer | someone connected with West Ham Football Club, as... |
| 2 | Middle English | hamer | A hammer; A fierce individual; one with strong... |
| 3 | Old English | hamor | hammer |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | *hamar | — |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | hamaraz | hammer |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂eḱmoros | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂éḱmō | stone |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂eḱ- | sharp |
via English head
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | head | The part of the body of an animal or human which... |
| 2 | English | -y | Added to nouns and adjectives to form adjectives... |
| 3 | Middle English | -y | Designates an adjective, in many cases formed by... |
| 4 | Old English | -iġ | -y, -ic |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | -g | Forms adjectives from nouns and verbs with a... |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | -gaz | -y |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -ḱos | -y, -ic |