Where does “knotty” come from?
Knotty comes from Middle English knotty formed with the Middle English suffix -y, derived from Middle French -ie, which traces to Latin -ium and Proto-Indo-European -kos and -yós.
knotty (English): Full of knots; Complicated or tricky; complex,...
Definitions
- Full of knots; Complicated or tricky; complex,...
Ancestry of “knotty”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | knotti | Alternative form of knotty |
| 2 | Middle English | knotte | knot, tie; binding, method of attachment, link;... |
| 3 | Old English | cnotta | knot |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | knuttô | a knot |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | gnod- | to bind |
Words derived from “knotty”