Where does “pith” come from?

pith (English) comes from English helmet, from Middle English helmet, from Old French helmet, from Old French helme, from Medieval Latin helmus, from Frankish helm, from Proto-Germanic helmaz, from Proto-Germanic halmaz — to pierce, strike; to stick; prick; stab.

pith (English): The soft, spongy substance in the center of the...

Definitions

  1. The soft, spongy substance in the center of the...

Ancestry of “pith”, step by step

pith traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via English helmet

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishhelmetA protective head covering, usually part of...
2Middle EnglishhelmetA helmet; an armoured piece of headgear
3Old Frenchhelmet—
4Old Frenchhelmehelmet
5Medieval Latinhelmushelmet
6Frankishhelmhelmet
7Proto-Germanichelmazhelmet
8Proto-Germanichalmazhalm; stem; stalk; straw; hay
9Proto-Indo-Europeanḱolh₂mosstalk
10Proto-Indo-Europeanḱelh₂-to pierce, strike; to stick; prick; stab

via English Pi

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishPiThe sixteenth letter of the Classical and Modern Greek alphabets and the seventeenth in Old Greek
2Ancient GreekπῖAlternative form of πεῖ
3Ancient Greekπεῖpi, the name for the sixteenth letter Π, π of the...
4Proto-Semiticpay-the mouth

via Middle English pith

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishpithThe soft interior portion of something,...
2Old Englishpiþapith
3Proto-Germanicpiþô—
4Proto-Germanicpiþō—

Words derived from “pith”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European ḱelh₂- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European ḱolh₂mos →Every word from Proto-Germanic halmaz →