Where does “shoulder-length” come from?

shoulder-length (English) comes from English length, from Middle English lengthe, from Old English lengþu, from Proto-Germanic langiþō, from Proto-Germanic langaz, from Proto-Indo-European dlongʰos — long.

shoulder-length (English): Reaching the shoulders

Definitions

  1. Reaching the shoulders

Ancestry of “shoulder-length”, step by step

shoulder-length traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English length

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishlengthThe distance measured along the longest dimension...
2Middle Englishlengthelength
3Old Englishlengþulength
4Proto-Germaniclangiþōlongness, length
5Proto-Germaniclangazlong
6Proto-Indo-Europeandlongʰoslong

via English shoulder

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishshoulderThe part of an animal's body between the base of...
2Middle EnglishschuldreThe shoulder; One's strength or carrying...
3Old Englishsċuldrashoulder
4Proto-West Germanicskuldrushoulder
Every word from Proto-Indo-European dlongʰos →Every word from Proto-Germanic langaz →Every word from Proto-Germanic langiþō →