Where does “handkerchief” come from?
Handkerchief comes from Middle English handkerchief, combining hand from Old English hand, ultimately from Proto-Germanic hundą and Proto-Indo-European ḱm̥tóm, with kerchief from Old French couvre-chief.
handkerchief (English): A piece of cloth, usually square and often fine...
Definitions
- A piece of cloth, usually square and often fine...
Ancestry of “handkerchief”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | kerchief | A piece of cloth used to cover the head; a... |
| 2 | Middle English | keverchef | — |
| 3 | Old French | couvrechief | — |
| 4 | Old French | chief | head; leader, chief; front |
| 5 | Vulgar Latin | capum | head, chief; head |
| 6 | Latin | caput | head; headlike protuberance on an organ or body... |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | kaput | head |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | káput | head |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | kap- | to seize, hold |
Words derived from “handkerchief”