Where does “offshoot” come from?
Offshoot comes from English shoot, influenced by the prefix off- from Old English, ultimately deriving from Proto-Germanic skeutaną and Proto-Indo-European roots meaning to cut or divide.
offshoot (English): That which shoots off or separates from a main...
Definitions
- That which shoots off or separates from a main...
Ancestry of “offshoot”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | shoot | To launch a projectile; To move or act quickly or... |
| 2 | Middle English | shoten | — |
| 3 | Old English | sċēotan | to shoot |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | skeutan | to shoot |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | skeutaną | to shoot |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)kewd- | to advance, push; to drive, propel |