Where does “headgear” come from?
Headgear comes from English head and the suffix -y, which derives from Middle French -ie, from Latin -ium, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European -kos and the root h₂er- meaning to seize or grasp.
headgear (English): Anything worn on the head, such as a helmet; The...
Definitions
- Anything worn on the head, such as a helmet; The...
Ancestry of “headgear”, step by step
headgear traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English gear
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | gear | Equipment or paraphernalia, especially that used... |
| 2 | Middle English | gere | Alternative form of gery; Alternative form of... |
| 3 | Old Norse | gervi | gear |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | garwijaną | to prepare |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | garwaz | ready, prepared |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | ga- | Indicates association or togetherness; co-;... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱóm | beside, near, by, with |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱe | Deictic particle, here; Post-positional... |
| 9 | Middle English | kyt | — |
| 10 | German | kitt | putty certain kinds of cement used for fixing e.g. window panes |
| 11 | Old High German | kuti | — |
| 12 | Proto-West Germanic | kwidu | gum, resin |
| 13 | Proto-Germanic | kweduz | resin |
| 14 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷet- | resin, gum; to say, speak |
| 15 | Proto-Indo-European | gū- | to bend; curve; arch; vault; to bow, bend, arch,... |
via English head
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | head | The part of the body of an animal or human which... |
| 2 | English | -y | Added to nouns and adjectives to form adjectives... |
| 3 | Middle English | -y | Designates an adjective, in many cases formed by... |
| 4 | Old English | -iġ | -y, -ic |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | -g | Forms adjectives from nouns and verbs with a... |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | -gaz | -y |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -ḱos | -y, -ic |