Where does “rag week” come from?
rag week (English) comes from English week, from Middle English wyke, from Old English wīc, from German witz, from Middle High German witz, from Old High German wizzi, from Proto-West Germanic wītī, from Proto-Germanic witją — to see.
rag week (English): An annual event in many universities where...
Definitions
- An annual event in many universities where...
Ancestry of “rag week”, step by step
rag week traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English week
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | week | Any period of seven consecutive days; A period of... |
| 2 | Middle English | wyke | Alternative form of wikke; Alternative form of... |
| 3 | Old English | wīc | dwelling place, abode; abode, dwelling-place;... |
| 4 | German | witz | joke |
| 5 | Middle High German | witz | — |
| 6 | Old High German | wizzi | — |
| 7 | Proto-West Germanic | wītī | punishment |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | witją | knowledge; reason; sense; understanding; wit |
| 9 | Proto-Germanic | *witaną | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | wóyde | to have seen, to know |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | weyd- | to see |
via English rag
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | rag | Tattered clothes; A piece of old cloth; a... |
| 2 | Middle English | ragge | rag, cloth scrap; cloth strip, band of fabric;... |
| 3 | Old English | ragg | — |
| 4 | Old Norse | rǫgg | shagginess; tuft; tuft, shagginess; tuft;... |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | rūhaz | rough |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | h₃rewk- | to dig; to till |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | h₃er- | to move, to stir; to rise, to spring; to quarrel,... |