Where does “lickpenny” come from?
lickpenny (English) comes from English lick, from German leute, from Middle High German liute, from Old High German liuti, from Proto-West Germanic *liud(i), from Proto-Germanic liudīz, from Proto-Indo-European h₁léwdʰis, from Proto-Indo-European h₁lewdʰ- — to grow; people.
lickpenny (English): Something that devours or absorbs lots of money;...
Definitions
- Something that devours or absorbs lots of money;...
Ancestry of “lickpenny”, step by step
lickpenny traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English lick
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | lick | The act of licking; a stroke of the tongue; The... |
| 2 | German | leute | people several individual persons, a group of people in general, esp. of one kind or another, folk (folks), peeps slang, guys (boys and/or girls) |
| 3 | Middle High German | liute | — |
| 4 | Old High German | liuti | people, subordinates |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | *liud(i) | — |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | liudīz | man, person |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁léwdʰis | people |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁lewdʰ- | to grow; people |
via English penny
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | penny | In the United Kingdom and Ireland, a copper coin... |
| 2 | English | -y | Added to nouns and adjectives to form adjectives... |
| 3 | Middle English | -y | Designates an adjective, in many cases formed by... |
| 4 | Old English | -iġ | -y, -ic |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | -g | Forms adjectives from nouns and verbs with a... |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | -gaz | -y |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -ḱos | -y, -ic |