Where does “hayloft” come from?
Hayloft combines English hay (from Old English hē, from Proto-Germanic ahwō, from Proto-Indo-European h₂ekʰeh₂ meaning "water") with loft, ultimately denoting a storage space above a barn.
hayloft (English): the upper storey of a barn used for storing hay
Definitions
- the upper storey of a barn used for storing hay
Ancestry of “hayloft”, step by step
hayloft traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English loft
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | loft | air, the air; the sky, the heavens; An attic or... |
| 2 | Middle English | lofte | air, sky, upper region, loft; of high rank;... |
| 3 | Old English | loft | — |
| 4 | Old Norse | lopt | attic; air, heaven |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | luftuz | roof; roof of the earth, firmament; heavens, sky;... |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | lewp- | peel, break off; to flake off, peel, damage; to... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | lew- | dirt, mud; to cut, remove, prune, separate; to... |