Where does “sawbones” come from?
sawbones (English) comes from English bones, from English bone, from Middle English bon, from Old English bān, from Arabic بان, from Ottoman Turkish بان, from Ottoman Turkish باڭ, from Persian بنگ — henbane.
sawbones (English): A surgeon
Definitions
- A surgeon
Ancestry of “sawbones”, step by step
sawbones traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English bones
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | bones | plural of bone; A percussive folk musical... |
| 2 | English | bone | A composite material consisting largely of... |
| 3 | Middle English | bon | bone |
| 4 | Old English | bān | bone, tusk; the bone of a limb |
| 5 | Arabic | بان | to separate, to become distinct, to sunder; to be... |
| 6 | Ottoman Turkish | بان | ban; keeper, tender, ward; ben tree, horseradish... |
| 7 | Ottoman Turkish | باڭ | — |
| 8 | Persian | بنگ | hashish, narcotic made from "Cannabis sativa";... |
| 9 | Middle Persian | 𐭡𐭭𐭢 | henbane |
via English saw
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | saw | A tool with a toothed blade used for cutting hard... |
| 2 | Middle English | sawe | Alternative form of sauf |
| 3 | Old English | saga | saw; saying; statement; story, tale; narrative |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | sagā | story |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | sagǭ | story |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | sekʷe- | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | sekʷ- | to follow; to see; to say |