Where does “shortchange” come from?
shortchange (English) comes from English change, from Middle English chaungen, from Anglo-Norman chaunger, from Old French changier, from Late Latin cambiare, from Latin cambiō, from Latin cambium, from Gaulish cambion — to bend; crooked; crooked.
shortchange (English): To defraud someone by giving them less change...
Definitions
- To defraud someone by giving them less change...
Ancestry of “shortchange”, step by step
shortchange traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English change
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | change | To become something different; To make something... |
| 2 | Middle English | chaungen | to change; to modify |
| 3 | Anglo-Norman | chaunger | Late Anglo-Norman spelling of changier |
| 4 | Old French | changier | to change; to make a change |
| 5 | Late Latin | cambiare | — |
| 6 | Latin | cambiō | to exchange, barter; change |
| 7 | Latin | cambium | A change; cambium |
| 8 | Gaulish | cambion | change |
| 9 | Proto-Celtic | kambos | curved; twisted, crooked |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | kamp- | to bend; crooked; crooked |
via English short
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | short | Having a small distance from one end or edge to... |
| 2 | Middle English | schort | short as opposed to being tall or long |
| 3 | Old English | sċeort | — |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | skurt | short; lacking, deficient |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | skurtaz | short; lacking, deficient |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)ḱer- | dung, manure, filth; manure, dung, filth |