Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “pocketbook” come from?

Pocketbook derives from English pocket and book, with book tracing from Middle English booke, Old English bōc, Proto-Germanic būkaz, and Proto-Indo-European roots related to beech wood used for writing tablets.

pocketbook (English): A woman's purse; One's personal budget or...

Definitions

  1. A woman's purse; One's personal budget or...

Ancestry of “pocketbook”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishBook—
2Germanbūch—
3Middle High Germanbuoch—
4Old High Germanbuohbook
5Proto-Germanicbōk—
6Proto-Germanicbakanąto bake
7Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰeh₃g-to bake, to roast, to fry
Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰeh₃g- →