Where does “lock” come from?
Lock comes from Old English loc, from Proto-Germanic luką, from Proto-Indo-European lewg-, a root of uncertain meaning.
lock (English): Something used for fastening, which can only be...
Definitions
- Something used for fastening, which can only be...
Ancestry of “lock”, step by step
lock traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Old English loc
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old English | loc | lock; that by which anything is closed; an... |
| 2 | Old English | stede | place |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | stadi | place |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | stadiz | place, location |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | stéh₂tis | standing, position |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | *steh₂- | — |
via Middle English lok
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | lok | lock |
| 2 | Old English | lāc | play, sport, strife, battle, sacrifice, offering,... |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | laik | game, sport |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | laikaz | dance; game, sport; hymn |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | leyǵ- | to bind, tie |
Words derived from “lock”