Where does “pithead” come from?

pithead (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.

pithead (English): The area around the top of the mineshaft of a...

Definitions

  1. The area around the top of the mineshaft of a...

Ancestry of “pithead”, step by step

pithead 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 pit

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishpitA hole in the ground; An area at a racetrack used...
2Middle Englishpit
3Old Englishpyttpit; well, pool; grave
4Proto-West Germanicputiwell
5Latinputeuspit, dungeon; well; cistern
6Latin-alnoun-forming suffix
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -ḱosEvery word from English -yEvery word from Old English -iġ