Where does “sidewalk” come from?
Sidewalk derives from Middle English side combined with walk, tracing through Old English sīde and Proto-Germanic walkōną back to Proto-Indo-European roots wel- and sek-.
sidewalk (English): a footpath, usually paved, at the side of a road...
Definitions
- a footpath, usually paved, at the side of a road...
Ancestry of “sidewalk”, step by step
sidewalk traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
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 |