Where does “potboy” come from?
potboy (English) comes from English pot, from Middle English pot, from Old French pot, from Vulgar Latin pottum, from Frankish *pott, from Proto-Germanic puttaz, from Proto-Indo-European budn- — a kind of vessel; type of vessel; a type of...
potboy (English): A boy employed as waiter to serve drinks, as in...
Definitions
- A boy employed as waiter to serve drinks, as in...
Ancestry of “potboy”, step by step
potboy traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English pot
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | pot | A flat-bottomed vessel used for cooking food;... |
| 2 | Middle English | pot | A pot; a circular receptacle or vessel; The top... |
| 3 | Old French | pot | pot; third-person singular present indicative of... |
| 4 | Vulgar Latin | pottum | — |
| 5 | Frankish | *pott | — |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | puttaz | pot, jar, tub |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | budn- | a kind of vessel; type of vessel; a type of... |
via English boy
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | boy | A young male; A male child: a son of any age; A... |
| 2 | Middle English | boye | servant, commoner, knave, boy |
| 3 | Old English | bōia | boy |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | bōjô | younger brother, young male relation |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | bō- | A stem meaning "father, brother, close male... |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰā- | to say |