Where does “plaything” come from?
Plaything derives from Middle English pleȝen, combining the verb "to please" from Latin placere with the noun suffix -en, originally meaning an object that pleases or amuses.
plaything (English): A thing or person intended for playing with
Definitions
- A thing or person intended for playing with
Ancestry of “plaything”, step by step
plaything traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English play
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | play | To act in a manner such that one has fun; to... |
| 2 | Middle English | pleye | Happiness, mirth, jolliness, or gaiety; Fun,... |
| 3 | Old English | pleġa | exercise |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | plegō | care; an exercise; a game |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | -ō | Creates adverbs from adjectives; Creates agent... |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | -ô | -ly; Forms agent nouns, often from the zero-grade... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -ō | Derives nouns from roots |
via English Thing
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Thing | A public assembly or judicial council in a... |
| 2 | Middle English | thing | thing |
| 3 | Old English | þing | event, meeting, court; matter, concern; thing,... |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | þing | court session, lawsuit; affair, matter; thing,... |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | þingą | appointed time; date; appointment; meeting;... |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | tenkó- | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | tenk- | to be solid, firm; to be suitable; to succeed,... |