Where does “paper cut” come from?

paper cut (English) comes from English paper, from Middle English paper, from Old French papier, from Old Catalan paper, from Latin papȳrus, from French -ine, from French -é, from Middle French -é.

paper cut (English): A wound caused by a piece of paper or any thin,...

Definitions

  1. A wound caused by a piece of paper or any thin,...

Ancestry of “paper cut”, step by step

paper cut traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English paper

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishpaperA sheet material used for writing on or printing...
2Middle Englishpaperpaper; A text, message or note; something that is...
3Old Frenchpapierto murmur
4Old Catalanpaperpaper sheet material typically used for writing on or printing
5Latinpapȳruspapyrus plant
6French-inefeminine singular of -in; female equivalent of...
7Frenchpast participle root verb suffix of regular -er...
8Middle Frenchpast participle root verb suffix of regular; -ed, -en, -n
9Old Frenchused to form past participles of regular -er...
10Latin-asuffixed to the roots of verbs, forms agent...
11Proto-ItalicForms masculine agent nouns from prefixed or compounded bases
12Proto-Indo-European-éh₂

via English CUT

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishCUTTo incise, to cut into the surface of something
2Middle Englishcutten
3Old Norsekytjahovel, small cottage
4Proto-Germanickutjanąto cut
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -éh₂Every word from French -ineEvery word from Latin -a
paper cut — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer