Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “knuckleheadery” come from?

knuckleheadery (English) comes from English knucklehead, from English knuckle, from Middle English knokel, from Old English cnucel, from Proto-West Germanic knukil, from Proto-Germanic knukilaz, from Proto-Germanic knukô, from Proto-Indo-European gnew- — to squeeze, pinch, kink, ball up, concentrate; to...

knuckleheadery (English): The stupid behaviour of a knucklehead

Definitions

  1. The stupid behaviour of a knucklehead

Ancestry of “knuckleheadery”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishknuckleheadAn idiot; a stupid or inept person
2EnglishknuckleAny of the joints between the phalanges of the...
3Middle Englishknokelfinger joint
4Old Englishcnucelthe juncture of two bones; knuckle; joint
5Proto-West Germanicknukilknuckle, joint, small bone
6Proto-Germanicknukilazknuckle, small bone; knot, bump
7Proto-Germanicknukôjoint, bone
8Proto-Indo-Europeangnew-a bundle; knot; knot, bundle
9Proto-Indo-Europeangen-to squeeze, pinch, kink, ball up, concentrate; to...
Every word from Proto-Indo-European gen- →