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
- The grounds around a school; An open field near a...
Ancestry of “schoolyard”, step by step
schoolyard traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Yard
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Yard | Scotland Yard or New Scotland Yard |
| 2 | English | milliard | 10, a thousand million |
| 3 | French | milliard | A milliard |
| 4 | French | million | million, 10 |
| 5 | Middle French | million | million, 10 |
| 6 | Old French | millon | — |
| 7 | Italian | milione | million |
| 8 | Italian | mille | thousand |
| 9 | Latin | Mīlle | thousand; 1000 |
| 10 | Proto-Italic | smīɣeslī | thousand |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | smih₂ǵʰéslih₂ | — |
via English school
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | school | A group of fish or a group of marine mammals such... |
| 2 | Middle English | scole | school |
| 3 | Old English | scōl | place of education |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | *skōlu | — |
| 5 | Latin | schola | Leisure time given to learning; schooltime,... |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | σχολή | leisure, free time; rest; that in which leisure... |
| 7 | Proto-Hellenic | skʰolā́ | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | sǵʰ-h₃-léh₂ | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | seǵʰ- | to hold; to overpower |