Where does “mineshaft” come from?
mineshaft (English) comes from English Mine, from French mine, from Breton min, from Italian mina, from Latin mina, from Gaulish mēnā, from Proto-Celtic *meinis, from Proto-Indo-European mēy(H)nis — to cut, hew.
mineshaft (English): A vertical hole through the strata to reach the...
Definitions
- A vertical hole through the strata to reach the...
Ancestry of “mineshaft”, step by step
mineshaft traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Mine
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Mine | Alternative letter-case form of mine "often used... |
| 2 | French | mine | mine; pencil lead; piledriver, scorcher |
| 3 | Breton | min | face of an animal; beak, muzzle |
| 4 | Italian | mina | mine, land mine; lead in pencils; mine which... |
| 5 | Latin | mina | A Greek weight equal to 100 drachmas; A Greek... |
| 6 | Gaulish | mēnā | ore, mine |
| 7 | Proto-Celtic | *meinis | ore, metal |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | mēy(H)nis | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)mēy(H)- | to cut, hew |
via English shaft
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | shaft | The entire body of a long weapon, such as an... |
| 2 | Old English | sċeaft | shaft; creation |
| 3 | Old English | sċieppan | to form; shape |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | skappjan | to make, to create |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | skapjaną | to make, to create; to shape |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | skab- | to cut, split, hew, shape; to cut, split, carve,... |