Where does “hash tag” come from?
hash tag (English) comes from English hash, from French hacher, from Middle French hacher, from Old French hacher, from Old French hache, from Vulgar Latin *happia, from Frankish happja, from Proto-Germanic *hapjǭ — to dig; to strike, to beat.
Ancestry of “hash tag”, step by step
hash tag traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English hash
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | hash | Food, especially meat and potatoes, chopped and... |
| 2 | French | hacher | to chop up, mince; to split with an axe; to cut... |
| 3 | Middle French | hacher | to chop up, mince |
| 4 | Old French | hacher | to chop up, mince |
| 5 | Old French | hache | axe |
| 6 | Vulgar Latin | *happia | — |
| 7 | Frankish | happja | axe, hatchet |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | *hapjǭ | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | kop- | to dig; to strike, to beat |