Where does “hometown” come from?
Hometown derives from English home and the suffix -town, with home tracing to Middle English home, Old English hām, and Proto-Indo-European kem-, meaning village or home.
hometown (English): An individual’s place of birth, childhood home,...
Definitions
- An individual’s place of birth, childhood home,...
Ancestry of “hometown”, step by step
hometown traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English town
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | town | A settlement; an area with residential districts,... |
| 2 | Middle English | toun | town |
| 3 | Middle English | ende | The end or finishing of a thing; the terminal... |
| 4 | Old English | ende | end, limit, border, corner |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | andi | in addition, furthermore, and |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂énti | opposite; near; in front |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂énts | forehead; front |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂ent- | face; forehead; front |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂en- | on, onto |
via English Home
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Home | A key that when pressed causes the cursor to go... |
| 2 | Middle English | hōm | home, residence, dwelling |
| 3 | Old English | hām | home; village, community; village, hamlet, manor,... |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | haim | home |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | haimaz | home; house; village |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱóymos | of the home, belonging to the family; village,... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱey- | to be lying down; to settle |