Where does “roughneck” come from?
roughneck (English) comes from English rough, from English ruff, from German Ruf, from Middle High German ruof, from Old High German ruof, from Old High German ruofan, from Proto-West Germanic hrōpan, from Proto-Germanic hrōpaną — army.
roughneck (English): Someone with rough manners; a rowdy or uncouth...
Definitions
- Someone with rough manners; a rowdy or uncouth...
Ancestry of “roughneck”, step by step
roughneck traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English rough
| 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 |
via English neck
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | neck | The part of the body connecting the head and the... |
| 2 | Middle English | nekke | neck |
| 3 | Old English | hnecca | back of the neck; back of the head; neck |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | *hnakkō | nape |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | hnakkô | the back of the neck; nape |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | knog- | back of the head, nape, neck |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | ken- | to arise, begin |