Where does “slinky” come from?
Slinky derives from English slink plus the Middle English suffix -y, from Middle French -ie, from Latin -ia, ultimately traceable through Latin -ivus and Proto-Indo-European -kos.
slinky (English): Furtive, stealthy or catlike; Thin; lank; lean;...
Definitions
- Furtive, stealthy or catlike; Thin; lank; lean;...
Ancestry of “slinky”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | slink | To sneak about furtively; To give birth to an... |
| 2 | Middle English | slynken | — |
| 3 | Old English | slincan | to crawl, slink |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | slinkan | — |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | slinkaną | To creep; crawl; slink |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | sleng- | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | sel- | dwelling; piece of wood; beam, post, balk, board,... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | ser- | to flow; to guard; to bind, to tie together |