Where does “little-go” come from?

little-go (English) comes from English Go, from English stop, from English top, from Middle English top, from Old English topp, from Proto-West Germanic *topp, from Proto-Germanic tuppaz, from Proto-Indo-European dumb- — tail, rod, staff, pole, penis; tail, rod, staff,...

little-go (English): A private lottery, especially when illegal;...

Definitions

  1. A private lottery, especially when illegal;...

Ancestry of “little-go”, step by step

little-go traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English Go

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishGoAn ancient Chinese board game, today also popular...
2EnglishstopTo cease moving; To not continue; To cause to...
3EnglishtopThe highest or uppermost part of something; A...
4Middle EnglishtopThe summit or top of something, especially a...
5Old Englishtopptop, summit (of something)
6Proto-West Germanic*topptop, summit, crest
7Proto-Germanictuppaztuft, plait; top, summit
8Proto-Indo-Europeandumb-tail, rod, staff, pole, penis; tail, rod, staff,...

via English little

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishlittleSmall in size; Insignificant, trivial; Very young
2Middle Englishlitellittle
3Old Englishlȳtellittle
4Proto-West Germaniclūtilbent; tending to stoop; crouching
5Proto-Germaniclūtilazbent; tending to stoop; crouching; little
6Proto-Germanicburgzfortification, stronghold; city
7Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰr̥ǵʰ-
Every word from Proto-Indo-European dumb-