Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “hundredweight” come from?

Hundredweight comes from English hundred and English weight, with hundred from Middle English hundred, Old English hundred, and Proto-Germanic *wihtiz, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *weǵʰ-.

hundredweight (English): A measure of weight containing 100 avoirdupois...

Definitions

  1. A measure of weight containing 100 avoirdupois...

Ancestry of “hundredweight”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishhundredA numerical value equal to 100 , occurring after...
2Middle Englishhundred—
3Old Englishhundredhundred
4Proto-West Germanic*hundarad—
5Proto-Germanichundaradąa great hundred; a hundred
6Proto-Germanichundąa great hundred; a hundred
7Proto-Indo-Europeanḱm̥tómhundred
8Proto-Indo-Europeandéḱm̥ten
Every word from Proto-Indo-European déḱm̥ →