Where does “neckerchief” come from?
Neckerchief comes from Middle English nekkyrchefe, a compound of nekke (neck) and kerchefe (kerchief), ultimately denoting a cloth worn around the neck.
neckerchief (English): A scarf that is worn looped or tied around the...
Definitions
- A scarf that is worn looped or tied around the...
Ancestry of “neckerchief”, step by step
neckerchief traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via English kerchief
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | kerchief | A piece of cloth used to cover the head; a... |
| 2 | Middle English | keverchef | A headcloth or kerchief; a cover for the head usually of a woman |
| 3 | Old French | couvrechief | — |
| 4 | Old French | chief | head; leader, chief; front |
| 5 | Vulgar Latin | capum | head, chief; head |
| 6 | Latin | caput | head; headlike protuberance on an organ or body... |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | kaput | head |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | káput | head |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | kap- | to seize, hold |
via English neck
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | neck | The part of the body connecting the head and the... |
| 2 | Middle English | nekke | neck |
| 3 | Old English | hnecca | back of the neck; back of the head; neck |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | *hnakkō | nape |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | hnakkô | the back of the neck; nape |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | knog- | back of the head, nape, neck |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | ken- | to arise, begin |
via Middle English nekkyrchefe
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | nekkyrchefe | — |