Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “pennywise” come from?

pennywise (English) comes from English penny, from English -y, from Middle English -y, from Old English -iġ, from Proto-West Germanic -g, from Proto-Germanic -gaz, from Proto-Indo-European -ḱos — -y, -ic.

pennywise (English): Careful with small amounts of money or over small...

Definitions

  1. Careful with small amounts of money or over small...

Ancestry of “pennywise”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishpennyIn the United Kingdom and Ireland, a copper coin...
2English-yAdded to nouns and adjectives to form adjectives...
3Middle English-yDesignates an adjective, in many cases formed by...
4Old English-iġ-y, -ic
5Proto-West Germanic-gForms adjectives from nouns and verbs with a...
6Proto-Germanic-gaz-y
7Proto-Indo-European-ḱos-y, -ic
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -ḱos →