Where does “kick” come from?
Kick comes from Middle English kiken, from Old Dutch kīkan, from Proto-Germanic bukkaz, ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root bʰōw-.
kick (English): To strike or hit with the foot or other extremity...
Definitions
- To strike or hit with the foot or other extremity...
Ancestry of “kick”, step by step
kick traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English kick the bucket
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | kick the bucket | To die; Of a machine, to break down such that it... |
| 2 | English | bucket | A container made of rigid material, often with a... |
| 3 | Middle English | boket | bucket |
| 4 | Anglo-Norman | buket | tub, pail; bucket |
| 5 | Old French | buc | abdomen; object with a cavity; trunk, torso;... |
| 6 | Latin | buccus | he-goat |
| 7 | Frankish | bukk | male goat; buck, goat; buck, male goat |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | *bukkaz | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰuǵ- | buck, he-goat |
| 10 | Proto-North Caucasian | bVχc̣V | — |
| 11 | Proto-North Caucasian | bVc̣V | young he-goat |