Where does “hardwired” come from?
Hardwired derives from English hard and English wire with the Middle English past participle suffix -ed, tracing through Proto-Germanic harduz and Proto-Indo-European kert-, meaning to turn or twist.
hardwired (English): Designed to perform a specific task; Of devices,...
Definitions
- Designed to perform a specific task; Of devices,...
Ancestry of “hardwired”, step by step
hardwired traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English wired
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | wired | Equipped with wires, so as to connect to a power... |
| 2 | English | wire | Metal formed into a thin, even thread, now... |
| 3 | Middle English | wir | — |
| 4 | Old English | wīr | wire, metal thread, wire-ornament |
| 5 | English | myrtle | An evergreen shrub or small tree of the genus... |
| 6 | Old French | myrte | — |
| 7 | Latin | myrtus | myrtle |
| 8 | Ancient Greek | μύρτος | myrtle; twig or spray of myrtle |
| 9 | Ancient Greek | μυρίκη | tamarisk |
| 10 | Ancient Greek | -ίκη | — |
via English hard
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | hard | Having a severe property; presenting difficulty;... |
| 2 | Old French | hardi | hardy; tough; durable |
| 3 | Old French | hardir | to harden |
| 4 | Frankish | hardijan | to harden, to make hard |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | hardijaną | to make hard, strong; to harden |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | harduz | hard; brave |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | kert- | times; to weave, twist together; time |
| 8 | Proto-Turkic | *keŕ- | to travel, tour |