Where does “piece of cake” come from?
piece of cake (English) comes from English cakewalk, from English walk, from Middle English walk, from Old English wealcian, from Frankish walkōn, from Proto-Germanic walkōną, from Indo-European *wel-.
piece of cake (English): Used other than with a figurative or idiomatic...
Definitions
- Used other than with a figurative or idiomatic...
Ancestry of “piece of cake”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | cakewalk | A contest in which cake was offered for the best... |
| 2 | English | walk | To move on the feet by alternately setting each... |
| 3 | Middle English | walk | to watch |
| 4 | Old English | wealcian | to roll up, curl, twist; to wrinkle |
| 5 | Frankish | walkōn | to roll; to full |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | walkōną | To roll about; wallow; To full |
| 7 | Indo-European | *wel- | — |