Where does “handlebar” come from?
Handlebar comes from English handle and bar, where bar derives from French barre, Ancient Greek βαρύς, and Proto-Indo-European gʷréh₂us.
handlebar (English): The bar used to steer a bicycle, motorbike, or...
Definitions
- The bar used to steer a bicycle, motorbike, or...
Ancestry of “handlebar”, step by step
handlebar traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Bar
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Bar | A solid, more or less rigid object of metal or wood with a uniform cross-section smaller than its length |
| 2 | German | bär | — |
| 3 | Middle High German | bër | bear |
| 4 | Old High German | beri | A berry |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | baʀi | berry |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | bazją | berry |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰeh₂- | to shine, glow light; to speak, say |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰeh₂-s-ri- | — |
via English handle
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | handle | The part of an object which is held in the hand... |
| 2 | Middle English | handel | — |
| 3 | Old English | handle | a handle |
| 4 | Old English | handlian | to handle |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | handulōn | to handle |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | handlōną | to take or hold in the hand, seize, grip |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | handuz | hand |