Where does “snowshoe” come from?
Snowshoe derives from English snow and shoe, with shoe tracing to Middle English shoo, Old English hēo, and ultimately Proto-Indo-European skek-, a root related to concepts of covering or protection.
snowshoe (English): A flat item of footwear worn to facilitate...
Definitions
- A flat item of footwear worn to facilitate...
Ancestry of “snowshoe”, step by step
snowshoe traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English shoe
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | shoe | A protective covering for the foot, with a bottom... |
| 2 | German | Schuh | shoe |
| 3 | Middle High German | schuo | — |
| 4 | Old High German | scuoh | shoe |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | skōh | shoe |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | skōhaz | shoe |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | skewk- | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)kew- | to caw, to howl; to cover, hide; to cover, hide,... |
via English snow
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | snow | The frozen, crystalline state of water that falls... |
| 2 | Middle English | snow | snow; snow-white; The temperature where snow... |
| 3 | Old English | snāw | snow |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | snaiw | snow |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | snaiwaz | snow |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | snóygʷʰos | snow |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | sneygʷʰ- | to snow |