Where does “housekeeping” come from?
Housekeeping derives from English house and English keep, with the -en suffix from Middle English, ultimately tracing through Proto-Germanic hūsą and Proto-Indo-European roots éǵh₂ and en.
housekeeping (English): The chores of maintaining a house as a residence,...
Definitions
- The chores of maintaining a house as a residence,...
Ancestry of “housekeeping”, step by step
housekeeping traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English keeping
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | keeping | conformity or harmony; charge or care;... |
| 2 | English | keep | To continue in (a course or mode of action); to not intermit or fall from; to uphold or maintain |
| 3 | Middle English | kepen | to keep, guard, look after, watch |
| 4 | Old English | cēpan | to seize, hold, observe |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | *kōpijan | — |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | kōpijaną | to look after, observe; to watch, keep, care for |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵab- | — |
via English House
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | House | A particular chamber of political representation |
| 2 | Middle English | hous | house, residence; house of worship, temple;... |
| 3 | Old English | hūs | dwelling, shelter, house; house |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | hūs | house |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | hūsą | house |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)kewH- | to cover, bedeck; cover |