Where does “sharecropping” come from?
Sharecropping derives from English share and English crop, with crop descending through Middle English croppe and Proto-Germanic skar- to Proto-Indo-European (s)ker-, meaning to cut or scrape.
sharecropping (English): The system where a tenant farmer, especially in...
Definitions
- The system where a tenant farmer, especially in...
Ancestry of “sharecropping”, step by step
sharecropping traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English share
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | share | A portion of something, especially a portion... |
| 2 | Middle English | schare | A portion or share |
| 3 | Old English | scearu | a cutting; shaving; a shearing; tonsure |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | *skaru | — |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | skarō | a portion; share; a division; detachment; troop;... |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | sḱer- | to caw, crow |
via English cropping
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | cropping | present participle of crop; The act by which... |