Where does “junkyard” come from?

Junkyard derives from English yard and junco (a type of bird), from Latin iuncus meaning reed or rush, from Proto-Indo-European ǵʰer- meaning to grasp or enclose.

junkyard (English): A place where rubbish is placed; A business that...

Definitions

  1. A place where rubbish is placed; A business that...

Ancestry of “junkyard”, step by step

junkyard traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English Yard

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishYardScotland Yard or New Scotland Yard
2Englishmilliard10, a thousand million
3FrenchmilliardA milliard
4Frenchmillionmillion, 10
5Middle Frenchmillionmillion, 10
6Old Frenchmillon—
7Italianmilionemillion
8Italianmillethousand
9LatinMīllethousand; 1000
10Proto-Italicsmīɣeslīthousand
11Proto-Indo-Europeansmih₂ǵʰéslih₂—

via English junk

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishjunkDiscarded or waste material; rubbish, trash,...
2Portuguesejuncoreed, rush; junk
3Arabicجُنْك—
4MalayjongJong (a Javanese-Malay cargo and passenger ship)
5Javanesedjong—
6Javaneseꦗꦺꦴꦁumbrella
7Kawijoṅ—
8Proto-Mon-Khmer*d₂luuŋboat
Every word from Proto-Indo-European smih₂ǵʰéslih₂ →Every word from Proto-Italic smīɣeslī →Every word from Latin Mīlle →