Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “pitchforkful” come from?

pitchforkful (English) comes from English Pitchfork, from Middle English pichfork, from Middle English picchen, from Middle English pikken, from Old English piccian, from Proto-West Germanic pikkōn, from Proto-Germanic pikkōną, from Proto-Indo-European bew- — "low-pitch humming noise".

pitchforkful (English): the amount that a pitchfork holds

Definitions

  1. the amount that a pitchfork holds

Ancestry of “pitchforkful”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishPitchfork—
2Middle EnglishpichforkA pitchfork; A fire iron resembling a fork
3Middle Englishpicchen—
4Middle EnglishpikkenAlternative form of piken; to pick, pierce; to...
5Old Englishpiccian—
6Proto-West Germanicpikkōnto peck, strike
7Proto-Germanicpikkōnąto pick, peck, prick
8Proto-Indo-Europeanbew-"low-pitch humming noise"
Every word from Proto-Indo-European bew- →