Where does “panhandle” come from?
Panhandle derives from English pan- combined with English handle, with pan- coming from Latin pannus meaning cloth, though the semantic development remains unclear.
panhandle (English): The handle of a pan; On a map, any arm or...
Definitions
- The handle of a pan; On a map, any arm or...
Ancestry of “panhandle”, step by step
panhandle traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via English PAN
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | PAN | Acronym of primary account number; Acronym of... |
| 2 | English | pantograph | A mechanical linkage based on parallelograms... |
| 3 | French | pantographe | pantograph |
| 4 | French | -graphe | -graph; -grapher |
| 5 | Latin | -graphus | graph |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | -γράφος | writer, painter |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | γράφω | to scratch, cut into; to draw, sketch, paint; to... |
| 8 | Proto-Hellenic | grəpʰō | to scratch, cut or carve into |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | gerbʰ- | to carve |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | ger- | to turn, bend, twist, wind; to tie, bind... |
via English handle
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | handle | The part of an object which is held in the hand... |
| 2 | Middle English | handel | — |
| 3 | Old English | handle | a handle |
| 4 | Old English | handlian | to handle |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | handulōn | to handle |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | handlōną | to take or hold in the hand, seize, grip |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | handuz | hand |
via English panhandler
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | panhandler | One who panhandles; an urban beggar who typically... |