Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “rocky” come from?

Rocky derives from Middle English -y, English and, Latin -ia, English and, Latin -ia, English and, Proto-Indo-European -kos.

rocky (English): Unstable; easily rocked; In the style of rock...

Definitions

  1. Unstable; easily rocked; In the style of rock...

Ancestry of “rocky”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishRock—
2Englishrock and rollA genre of popular music that evolved in the...
3EnglishandAs a coordinating conjunction; expressing two...
4Middle EnglishanAlternative form of in; Alternative form of and;...
5Old Englishondand
6Old Englishandand; even; also
7Proto-Germanicandiin addition, furthermore, and
8Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂éntiopposite; near; in front
9Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂éntsforehead; front
10Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂ent-face; forehead; front
11Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂en-on, onto

Words derived from “rocky”

  • rockiness
  • rockily
  • nonrocky
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂en- →