Where does “headspan” come from?
headspan (English) comes from English head, from English -y, from Middle English -y, from Old English -iġ, from Proto-West Germanic -g, from Proto-Germanic -gaz, from Proto-Indo-European -ḱos — -y, -ic.
headspan (English): A support for overhead power lines on a railway, consisting of two towers on either side of a railway connected by cables
Definitions
- A support for overhead power lines on a railway, consisting of two towers on either side of a railway connected by cables
Ancestry of “headspan”, step by step
headspan traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
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 |
via English span
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | span | The space from the thumb to the end of the little... |
| 2 | Middle English | span | Alternative form of spanne |
| 3 | Old English | spann | span |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | spann | — |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | spinnaną | to spin |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)pénh₁-ne- | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)penh₁- | to twist; to weave |