Where does “shopkeeping” come from?
shopkeeping (English) comes from English keeping, from English keep, from Middle English kepen, from Old English cēpan, from Proto-West Germanic *kōpijan, from Proto-Germanic kōpijaną, from Proto-Indo-European ǵab-.
shopkeeping (English): The business of operating a shop
Definitions
- The business of operating a shop
Ancestry of “shopkeeping”, step by step
shopkeeping traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English keeping
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | keeping | conformity or harmony; charge or care;... |
| 2 | English | keep | To continue in (a course or mode of action); to not intermit or fall from; to uphold or maintain |
| 3 | Middle English | kepen | to keep, guard, look after, watch |
| 4 | Old English | cēpan | to seize, hold, observe |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | *kōpijan | — |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | kōpijaną | to look after, observe; to watch, keep, care for |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵab- | — |