Where does “handkerchiefless” come from?
handkerchiefless (English) comes from English handkerchief, from English kerchief, from Middle English keverchef, from Old French couvrechief, from Old French chief, from Vulgar Latin capum, from Latin caput, from Proto-Italic kaput — to seize, hold.
handkerchiefless (English): Without a handkerchief or handkerchieves
Definitions
- Without a handkerchief or handkerchieves
Ancestry of “handkerchiefless”, step by step
handkerchiefless traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English handkerchief
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | handkerchief | A piece of cloth, usually square and often fine... |
| 2 | English | kerchief | A piece of cloth used to cover the head; a... |
| 3 | Middle English | keverchef | A headcloth or kerchief; a cover for the head usually of a woman |
| 4 | Old French | couvrechief | — |
| 5 | Old French | chief | head; leader, chief; front |
| 6 | Vulgar Latin | capum | head, chief; head |
| 7 | Latin | caput | head; headlike protuberance on an organ or body... |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | kaput | head |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | káput | head |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | kap- | to seize, hold |