Where does “matchbox” come from?
Matchbox derives from English box, from Latin box, from Ancient Greek βώξ, ultimately from Ancient Greek πύξος, a type of wood used to make containers.
matchbox (English): A small cardboard box in which matches are kept;...
Definitions
- A small cardboard box in which matches are kept;...
Ancestry of “matchbox”, step by step
matchbox traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English match
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | match | A competitive sporting event such as a boxing... |
| 2 | Middle English | macche | A bride or mate; a romantic or sexual partner |
| 3 | Old English | ġemæċċa | — |
| 4 | Old English | ġemaca | a mate, an equal, companion, peer; companion,... |
| 5 | Old English | ġe- | used as an intensifier for verbs, indicating completeness or perfection |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | ga- | used as an intensifier for verbs, indicating... |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | ga- | Indicates association or togetherness; co-;... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱóm | beside, near, by, with |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱe | Deictic particle, here; Post-positional... |
| 10 | Middle English | kyt | — |
| 11 | German | kitt | putty certain kinds of cement used for fixing e.g. window panes |
| 12 | Old High German | kuti | — |
| 13 | Proto-West Germanic | kwidu | gum, resin |
| 14 | Proto-Germanic | kweduz | resin |
| 15 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷet- | resin, gum; to say, speak |
| 16 | Proto-Indo-European | gū- | to bend; curve; arch; vault; to bow, bend, arch,... |
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 |