Where does “railroad” come from?
Railroad derives from English road and English active, influenced by Middle French railler, Latin radiare, Latin radius meaning "spoke of a wheel," Latin rego, and Latin -ulus.
railroad (English): A permanent road consisting of fixed metal rails...
Definitions
- A permanent road consisting of fixed metal rails...
Ancestry of “railroad”, step by step
railroad traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English rail
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | rail | A horizontal bar extending between supports and... |
| 2 | Middle English | rail | — |
| 3 | Old English | regol | a rule; a ruler |
| 4 | Latin | rēgula | rule, bar |
| 5 | Latin | -ula | regō + API → rēgula; tegō + API → tēgula;... |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -tlom | Alternative form of *-trom |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -trom | Forms nouns denoting a tool or instrument |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -tḗr | Derives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone... |
via English road
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | road | A way used for travelling between places,... |
| 2 | Middle English | rode | A cross or gibbet; The cross of Christ; The cross... |
| 3 | Old English | rād | road; riding, hostile incursion; riding, road |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | raidu | riding, ride |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | raidō | ride, journey; name of the R-rune |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | rīdaną | to ride |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | rēydʰ- | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂er- | to fit, to fix, to put together |