Where does “scuttlebutt” come from?
scuttlebutt (English) comes from English butt, from Middle English butten, from Anglo-Norman buter, from Old French boter, from Old French bouter, from Frankish bautan, from Proto-West Germanic bautan, from Proto-Germanic bautaną — to grow, swell; to swell, wax, grow; to blow; to...
scuttlebutt (English): A butt with a scuttle, a keg of drinking water...
Definitions
- A butt with a scuttle, a keg of drinking water...
Ancestry of “scuttlebutt”, step by step
scuttlebutt traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English butt
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | butt | The larger or thicker end of something; the blunt... |
| 2 | Middle English | butten | — |
| 3 | Anglo-Norman | buter | to strike, finish |
| 4 | Old French | boter | to push, butt, strike; to strike; to push; thrust |
| 5 | Old French | bouter | to strike; to hit; to place; to put; to enter |
| 6 | Frankish | bautan | to push, strike, beat; to hit, strike; to hit,... |
| 7 | Proto-West Germanic | bautan | to beat |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | bautaną | to beat, push |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰewd- | to hit, strike; to beat, push; to strike, push,... |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰew- | to grow, swell; to swell, wax, grow; to blow; to... |
via English scuttle
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | scuttle | A container like an open bucket; A broad, shallow... |
| 2 | Middle English | scuttel | — |
| 3 | Old English | sċutel | dart, arrow; bar; bolt |
| 4 | Latin | scutella | a small or shallow bowl, basin or dish; a small... |
| 5 | Latin | -lus | Alternative form of -ulus; diminutive suffix |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | -elos | Forms desubstantival and deadjectival diminutive nouns |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -e-lós | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -lós | Forms agent nouns from verbal roots |