Where does “killstreak” come from?

killstreak (English) comes from English kill, from Middle English killen, from Old English cwellan, from Proto-West Germanic kwalljan, from Proto-Germanic kwaljaną, from Proto-Germanic -janą, from Proto-Indo-European -yéti, from Proto-Indo-European yé- — he, she.

killstreak (English): An unbroken streak of kills

Definitions

  1. An unbroken streak of kills

Ancestry of “killstreak”, step by step

killstreak traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English kill

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishkillTo put to death; to extinguish the life of; To...
2Middle Englishkillen
3Old Englishcwellanto kill; to slay
4Proto-West Germanickwalljanto make suffer, to hurt
5Proto-Germanickwaljanąto make suffer, to hurt
6Proto-Germanic-janąDerives denominatives from nouns and factitives...
7Proto-Indo-European-yétiCreates intransitive, often deponent,...
8Proto-Indo-Europeanyé-
9Chichewaiyehe, she

via English streak

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishstreakAn irregular line left from smearing or motion; A...
2Middle Englishstreke
3Old Englishstrica
4Proto-Germanicstrikizline
5Proto-Indo-Europeanstreyg-to strike; to shear
6Proto-Indo-European(s)ter-strong, firm, stiff, rigid; rigid, stiff; to...
Every word from Chichewa iye
killstreak — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer