Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “schoolyard” come from?

Schoolyard comes from English school plus yard, where school derives from Old English ġerd, from Middle Dutch scole, from Latin schola meaning leisure or learned discussion, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European (s)kʷel-.

schoolyard (English): The grounds around a school; An open field near a...

Definitions

  1. The grounds around a school; An open field near a...

Ancestry of “schoolyard”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishYard—
2Englishmilliard10, a thousand million
3FrenchmilliardA milliard
4Frenchmillionmillion, 10
5Middle Frenchmillionmillion, 10
6Old Frenchmillon—
7Italianmilionemillion
8Italianmillethousand
9LatinMīlle—
10Proto-Italicsmīɣeslī—
11Proto-Indo-Europeansmih₂ǵʰéslih₂—

Words derived from “schoolyard”

  • schoolyardish
Every word from Proto-Indo-European smih₂ǵʰéslih₂ →