Where does “memory hole” come from?

memory hole (English) comes from English hole, from Middle English hole, from Old English hol, from Proto-West Germanic hol, from Proto-Germanic hulą, from Proto-Germanic hulaz, from Proto-Indo-European ḱel- — to cover; to incline.

memory hole (English): A figurative place to which lost or forgotten...

Definitions

  1. A figurative place to which lost or forgotten...

Ancestry of “memory hole”, step by step

memory hole traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English hole

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishholeA hollow place or cavity; an excavation; a pit;...
2Middle Englishholehealthy; safe; whole, complete, full
3Old Englishhola hole, a hollow; calumny; slander
4Proto-West Germanicholhollow; hole
5Proto-Germanichuląa hollow; depression; hole
6Proto-Germanichulazhollow
7Proto-Indo-Europeanḱel-to cover; to incline

via English memory

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishmemoryThe ability of the brain to record information or...
2Old Frenchmemoirememory
3Latinmemoriamemory; the ability to remember; a remembrance, a...
4Latin-iaUsed to form a feminine abstract noun, usually...
5Latin-iusforming adjectives from nouns; nominative neuter...
6Proto-Italic-jōsForms comparative adjectives
7Proto-Indo-European-yósCreates adjectives from noun or verb stems
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ḱel-
memory hole — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer