Where does “pinhead” come from?

pinhead (English) comes from English head, 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.

pinhead (English): The head of a pin; An ignorant, naive, foolish,...

Definitions

  1. The head of a pin; An ignorant, naive, foolish,...

Ancestry of “pinhead”, step by step

pinhead traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English head

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishheadThe part of the body of an animal or human which...
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

via English PIN

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishPINAcronym of personal identification number;...
2Middle Englishpinne
3Old Englishpinnpin; peg; an instrument of writing; pen
4Proto-Germanicpinnazpin
5Proto-Indo-Europeanbend-point, pin; peg, tip, protruding point, edge;...
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -ḱosEvery word from English -yEvery word from Old English -iġ