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
- A measure of weight containing 100 avoirdupois...
Ancestry of “hundredweight”, step by step
hundredweight traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English hundred
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | hundred | A numerical value equal to 100 (102), occurring after ninety-nine |
| 2 | Middle English | hundred | A hundred; 100 |
| 3 | Old English | hundred | hundred |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | *hundarad | hundred |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | hundaradą | a great hundred; a hundred |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | hundą | a great hundred; a hundred |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱm̥tóm | hundred |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | déḱm̥ | ten |