Where does “roadblock” come from?
roadblock (English) comes from English block, from French Bloc, from Middle French bloc, from Old French bloc, from Dutch blok, from Middle Dutch blok, from Old Dutch blok, from Proto-West Germanic blokk — thick plank, beam, pile, prop.
roadblock (English): Something that blocks or obstructs a road; An...
Definitions
- Something that blocks or obstructs a road; An...
Ancestry of “roadblock”, step by step
roadblock traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English block
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | block | A substantial, often approximately cuboid, piece... |
| 2 | French | Bloc | Bloc — Bloc Québécois (Bloc québécois) |
| 3 | Middle French | bloc | a considerable piece of something heavy, block |
| 4 | Old French | bloc | log, block |
| 5 | Dutch | blok | a block; a street block; a political bloc |
| 6 | Middle Dutch | blok | treetrunk |
| 7 | Old Dutch | blok | log |
| 8 | Proto-West Germanic | blokk | block, log |
| 9 | Proto-Germanic | blukką | block, log |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | bhulg'- | — |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | bhelg'- | thick plank, beam, pile, prop |
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 |