Where does “houndstooth” come from?

houndstooth (English) comes from English hound, from Middle English hound, from Old English hund, from Proto-West Germanic hund, from Proto-Germanic hundaz, from Proto-Indo-European ḱwn̥tós, from Proto-Indo-European ḱwṓ — dog.

houndstooth (English): A two-colour fabric pattern of broken checks;...

Definitions

  1. A two-colour fabric pattern of broken checks;...

Ancestry of “houndstooth”, step by step

houndstooth traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English hound

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishhoundA dog, particularly a breed with a good sense of...
2Middle Englishhounddog, hound; A strong term of abuse, especially...
3Old Englishhunddog; hundred
4Proto-West Germanichunddog
5Proto-Germanichundazdog
6Proto-Indo-Europeanḱwn̥tós
7Proto-Indo-Europeanḱwṓdog

via English tooth

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishtoothA hard, calcareous structure present in the mouth...
2Middle EnglishtothAlternative form of tothe
3Old Englishtōþtooth
4Proto-Germanictanþstooth
5Proto-Indo-Europeanh₃dóntstooth
6Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁ed-to eat
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ḱwṓ