Where does “sidetrack” come from?
sidetrack (English) comes from English track, from Middle English trak, from Old French trac, from Middle Dutch treck, from Old Dutch trecken, from Proto-West Germanic *trakkjan, from Proto-Germanic trakjaną, from Proto-Germanic -janą — he, she.
sidetrack (English): A second, relatively short length of track just...
Definitions
- A second, relatively short length of track just...
Ancestry of “sidetrack”, step by step
sidetrack traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English track
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | track | A mark left by something that has passed along; A... |
| 2 | Middle English | trak | — |
| 3 | Old French | trac | track of horses, trail, trace; track; a track,... |
| 4 | Middle Dutch | treck | — |
| 5 | Old Dutch | trecken | — |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | *trakkjan | to drag |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | trakjaną | to drag |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | -janą | Derives denominatives from nouns and factitives... |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -yéti | Creates intransitive, often deponent,... |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | yé- | — |
| 11 | Chichewa | iye | he, she |
via English Side
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Side | A bounding straight edge of a two-dimensional shape |
| 2 | Middle English | side | custom |
| 3 | Old English | sīde | side, flank |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | *sīdā | side |
| 5 | Medieval Latin | sida | — |
| 6 | Late Latin | seta | Alternative form of saeta; hair, bristle; bristle |
| 7 | Latin | saeta | a bristle, hair on an animal; silk |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | saitā | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | séh₂ito- | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | sh₂ey- | to bind, fetter |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | seh₂- | to satiate, satisfy |