Etymology Explorer › English

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

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