Where does “motorway” come from?
Motorway derives from English motor and way, combining motor from Latin mōtō (moving) and way from Proto-Germanic wēgō, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European weǵʰ- (to move).
motorway (English): A broad highway designed for high speed traffic,...
Definitions
- A broad highway designed for high speed traffic,...
Ancestry of “motorway”, step by step
motorway traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English motor
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | motor | A machine or device that converts other energy... |
| 2 | Middle English | motour | — |
| 3 | Latin | motor | mover; that which moves something; first-person... |
| 4 | Latin | -tor | -er |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | -tōr | Forms agent nouns to verb stems |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -tōr | Derives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -tor-s | — |