Where does “quicksand” come from?
Quicksand comes from Middle English quyksande, from Old English cwecesand, from Proto-Germanic kwikwasamdaz, literally combining elements meaning "living" or "moving" with "sand."
quicksand (English): Wet sand that things readily sink in, often found...
Definitions
- Wet sand that things readily sink in, often found...
Ancestry of “quicksand”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | quyksande | quicksand |
| 2 | Old English | cwecesand | quicksand |
| 3 | Old English | cwic | living, live, alive; mentally agile; intelligent,... |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | *kwiku | alive |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | kwikwaz | alive; lively, quick |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷih₃wós | alive, living |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷeih₃w- | to live |