Where does “pipeline” come from?
Pipeline is a compound of pipe and line, where line derives from Old English līn, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European līno-, a suffix forming agent nouns.
pipeline (English): A conduit made of pipes used to convey water, gas...
Definitions
- A conduit made of pipes used to convey water, gas...
Ancestry of “pipeline”, step by step
pipeline traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English line
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | line | A path through two or more points (compare ‘segment’); a continuous mark, including as made by a pen; any path, curved or straight |
| 2 | Middle English | line | rope, cord; line, rule, ruler, measure; rule,... |
| 3 | Old English | līne | line, rope, cord; line, cable, rope, hawser,... |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | *līnā | line, chord, rope, string |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | līnǭ | that which is made of flax; line, chord, rope,... |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | līną | flax |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | līno- | flax |
via English pipe
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | pipe | Meanings relating to a wind instrument; Meanings... |
| 2 | Middle English | pīpe | A pipe; a piece of tubing used as a channel (often for fluids) |
| 3 | Middle English | pipen | To use a pipe or similar musical instrument; to... |
| 4 | Old English | pīpian | to pipe |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | pīpan | to peep, to chirp, to squeak |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | pīpaną | To chirp or pipe like a bird or rodent; To talk... |
| 7 | Latin | pipo | I pip, peep |