Where does “lockup” come from?
Lockup derives from English lock, which comes from Old English loc, from Proto-Germanic luką, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European lewg-, meaning to bend or turn.
lockup (English): A jail cell, or a period of incarceration; A...
Definitions
- A jail cell, or a period of incarceration; A...
Ancestry of “lockup”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | lock up | to imprison or incarcerate someone; to invest in... |
| 2 | English | lock | Something used for fastening, which can only be... |
| 3 | Old English | loc | lock; that by which anything is closed; an... |
| 4 | Old English | stede | place |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | stadi | place |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | stadiz | place, location |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | stéh₂tis | standing, position |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | *steh₂- | — |
Words derived from “lockup”