Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “pushover” come from?

Pushover derives from English push and over, where push comes from Middle French pousser, from Frankish pokka, from Latin pulsare meaning to strike or beat, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European bʰew-.

pushover (English): Someone who is easily swayed or influenced to...

Definitions

  1. Someone who is easily swayed or influenced to...

Ancestry of “pushover”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishpushTo apply a force to such that it moves away from...
2Middle Englishpushen—
3Middle Frenchpousser—
4Old Frenchpoulser—
5Latinpulsarepresent active infinitive of pulsō; second-person...
6LatinpulsoI push, strike, beat, batter, hammer; knock on;...
7Latinpulsuspulse, impulse, beat, stroke; expelled, kicked...
8Latinpellō—
9Proto-Italicpelnōapproach, go to; bring close
10Proto-Indo-Europeanpelh₂-to approach
11Proto-Indo-Europeanpel-to cover, to wrap; skin, hide, cloth; to fold

Words derived from “pushover”

  • pushoverness
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pel- →