Where does “nitpickiness” come from?
nitpickiness (English) comes from English nitpicky, from English nitpick, from English pick, from Middle English piken, from Middle English pyke, from Old English pīc, from Proto-Germanic *pīk, from Latin pix — sap, juice.
nitpickiness (English): The quality of being nitpicky; pedantry over...
Definitions
- The quality of being nitpicky; pedantry over...
Ancestry of “nitpickiness”, step by step
nitpickiness traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English nitpicky
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | nitpicky | Finicky; overly critical; concerned with... |
| 2 | English | nitpick | To correct minutiae or find fault in unimportant... |
| 3 | English | pick | A tool used for digging; a pickaxe; A tool for... |
| 4 | Middle English | piken | To pick at; to use a edged tool on; To pierce or... |
| 5 | Middle English | pyke | A sharp round point or projection; A point or end... |
| 6 | Old English | pīc | pointed object, pick axe |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | *pīk | — |
| 8 | Latin | pix | pitch, tar |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | pik- | to be angry; pitch; resin |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | pi- | sap, juice |
via English Ness
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Ness | An Ulster princess and the mother of Conchobar mac Nessa and Findchoem in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. Daughter of Eochaid Sálbuide. Also the mother of Cormac Cond Longas by incest with Conchobar mac Nessa |
| 2 | Middle English | nesse | — |
| 3 | Old English | næs | not, not at all; not; first/third-person singular... |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | nasją | foothill; headland; cape |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | néh₂s | nose |