Where does “scratchpad” come from?

scratchpad (English) comes from English pad, from Dutch pad, from Middle Dutch pat, from Old Dutch path, from Proto-West Germanic paþ, from Proto-Germanic paþaz, from Proto-Iranian pántaHh, from Proto-Indo-Iranian pántaHs — to pass; path.

scratchpad (English): A pad of paper for preliminary notes or sketches...

Definitions

  1. A pad of paper for preliminary notes or sketches...

Ancestry of “scratchpad”, step by step

scratchpad traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English pad

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishpadA flattened mass of anything soft, to sit or lie...
2Dutchpadpath; toad; The slot in the frame that accepts...
3Middle Dutchpat
4Old Dutchpath
5Proto-West Germanicpaþpath
6Proto-Germanicpaþazpath
7Proto-IranianpántaHh
8Proto-Indo-IranianpántaHspath
9Proto-Indo-Europeanpent-to pass; path

via English Scratch

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishScratchA free educational visual programming language and a programming site developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab
2Middle Englishscrattento scratch
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pent-Every word from Proto-Indo-Iranian pántaHsEvery word from Proto-Iranian pántaHh