Where does “rootkit” come from?
rootkit (English) comes from English root, from Middle English rote, from Old French rote, from Latin rupta, from Latin ruptus, from Latin rumpō, from Proto-Indo-European Hrunépti, from Proto-Indo-European Hrewp- — to tear out, dig out, open, acquire.
rootkit (English): A set of software tools used by a third party to...
Definitions
- A set of software tools used by a third party to...
Ancestry of “rootkit”, step by step
rootkit traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English root
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | root | The part of a plant, generally underground, that... |
| 2 | Middle English | rote | The root; The foundation or base of a... |
| 3 | Old French | rote | route, path |
| 4 | Latin | rupta | nominative feminine singular of ruptus;... |
| 5 | Latin | ruptus | broken; ruptured, burst |
| 6 | Latin | rumpō | to break, burst, tear, rend, rupture; break asunder, force open |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | Hrunépti | to be breaking |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | Hrewp- | to break, tear |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | Hrew- | to tear out, dig out, open, acquire |
via English kit
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | kit | A circular wooden vessel, made of hooped staves;... |
| 2 | Middle English | kyt | — |
| 3 | German | kitt | putty certain kinds of cement used for fixing e.g. window panes |
| 4 | Old High German | kuti | — |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | kwidu | gum, resin |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | kweduz | resin |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷet- | resin, gum; to say, speak |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | gū- | to bend; curve; arch; vault; to bow, bend, arch,... |