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
- 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
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Yard | Scotland Yard or New Scotland Yard |
| 2 | English | milliard | 10, a thousand million |
| 3 | French | milliard | A milliard |
| 4 | French | million | million, 10 |
| 5 | Middle French | million | million, 10 |
| 6 | Old French | millon | — |
| 7 | Italian | milione | million |
| 8 | Italian | mille | thousand |
| 9 | Latin | Mīlle | thousand; 1000 |
| 10 | Proto-Italic | smīɣeslī | thousand |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | smih₂ǵʰéslih₂ | — |