Where does “milestone” come from?
Milestone derives from Middle English milestone, combining Middle English stone with Latin milium (thousand), from Latin mille (thousand), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European steh₂- (to stand).
milestone (English): A stone milepost (or by extension in other materials), one of a series of numbered markers placed along a road at regular intervals, typically at the side of the road or in a median
Definitions
- A stone milepost (or by extension in other materials), one of a series of numbered markers placed along a road at regular intervals, typically at the side of the road or in a median
Ancestry of “milestone”, step by step
milestone traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English mile
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | mile | The international mile: a unit of length... |
| 2 | Middle English | myle | mile; The time it takes to walk a mile;... |
| 3 | Old English | mīl | millet; mile |
| 4 | Latin | mīlia | — |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | mīliju | mile |
| 6 | Latin | Mīlle | thousand; 1000 |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | smīɣeslī | thousand |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | smih₂ǵʰéslih₂ | — |
via English stone
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | stone | A hard earthen substance that can form large... |
| 2 | Middle English | stone | A stone, boulder, or pebble; A solid mass... |
| 3 | Old English | stān | stone, rock |
| 4 | Old Norse | Veggr | name of a dwarf |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | wajjuz | wall |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | wh̥₁yús | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | weh₁y- | to twist, wind, weave, plait; to wrap, enclose,... |