Where does “kink” come from?

Kink comes from Middle English kinken, from Old English cincian, from Proto-Germanic kinkōną, from Proto-Indo-European gengʰ-.

kink (English): To laugh loudly; To gasp for breath as in a...

Definitions

  1. To laugh loudly; To gasp for breath as in a...

Ancestry of “kink”, step by step

kink traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Middle English kinken

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishkinken
2Old Englishcincianto laugh loudly; cackle
3Proto-West Germanickinkōn
4Proto-Germanickinkōnąto laugh loudly, kink
5Proto-Indo-Europeanganǵ-to mock, insult

via Dutch kink

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Dutchkinka twist or curl in a rope; kink, twist or bend
2Proto-Germanickenk-
3Proto-Indo-Europeangengʰ-to turn, wind, braid, weave

Words derived from “kink

Every word from Proto-Indo-European ganǵ-