Where does “roughage” come from?
Roughage derives from Middle English rou combined with Old French -age, from Latin -aticum, ultimately tracing to Proto-Indo-European h₃rewk- meaning to break or tear.
roughage (English): dietary fibre; any rough or coarse material,...
Definitions
- dietary fibre; any rough or coarse material,...
Ancestry of “roughage”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | rough | Not smooth; uneven; Approximate; hasty or... |
| 2 | English | ruff | A circular frill or ruffle on a garment,... |
| 3 | German | Ruf | call; reputation |
| 4 | Middle High German | ruof | — |
| 5 | Old High German | ruof | — |
| 6 | Old High German | ruofan | to call |
| 7 | Proto-West Germanic | hrōpan | to cry out, to call, to shout |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | hrōpaną | to cry out, call, shout |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱer- | to grow, to make grow, to nourish; to plait,... |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | kr̥- | to turn, to bend |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | ker- | army |
Words derived from “roughage”