Where does “letterbox” come from?
letterbox (English) comes from English box, from French boxer, from French -er, from English -er, from Middle English -er, from Old French -er, from Latin -āre, from Proto-Italic -āō — he, she.
letterbox (English): Transferred to home video formats while...
Definitions
- Transferred to home video formats while...
Ancestry of “letterbox”, step by step
letterbox traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English box
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | box | Senses relating to a three-dimensional object or... |
| 2 | French | boxer | boxer; boxer shorts, boxers; to box |
| 3 | French | -er | Forms infinitives of first-conjugation verbs |
| 4 | English | -er | A person or thing that does an action indicated... |
| 5 | Middle English | -er | agentive suffix; agent noun suffix |
| 6 | Old French | -er | Alternative form of -ier, verbal suffix;... |
| 7 | Latin | -āre | first conjugation |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | -āō | Forms primarily denominative verbs |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -eh₂yéti | Creates iterative/ frequentative/ intensive... |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -yéti | Creates intransitive, often deponent,... |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | yé- | — |
| 12 | Chichewa | iye | he, she |
via English letter
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | letter | A symbol in an alphabet; A written or printed... |
| 2 | Middle English | letter | — |
| 3 | Old French | letre | letter |
| 4 | Latin | littera | a letter of the alphabet; handwriting; letter,... |
| 5 | Latin | lītera | — |
| 6 | Old Latin | leitera | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂leyH- | to smear |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | leyh₂- | to die, disapear; to avoid, elude, decline,... |