Where does “softbacked” come from?

softbacked (English) comes from English backed, from English back, from French bac, from French baccalauréat, from Medieval Latin baccalaureatus, from Latin baccalaureus, from Latin laurea, from Latin laurus — Forms comparative adjectives.

softbacked (English): Having a flexible binding of card or similar; softback

Definitions

  1. Having a flexible binding of card or similar; softback

Ancestry of “softbacked”, step by step

softbacked traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English backed

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishbackedsimple past tense and past participle of back;...
2EnglishbackNear the rear; Not current; Far from the main...
3Frenchbacferry; vat; high school exit exam in France; A...
4Frenchbaccalauréatbaccalaureat; bachelor's degree
5Medieval Latinbaccalaureatusbachelor's degree
6Latinbaccalaureusbachelor
7Latinlaurealaurel, bay tree; crown, wreath or branch of...
8Latinlauruslaurel tree; laurels; a crown of laurel
9English-aceousOf, relating to, resembling or containing the...
10Latin-āceusaceous; resembling, having the nature of, forming, belonging to
11Latin-āxish, -y
12Latin-iumSuffix used to form abstract nouns, sometimes...
13Latin-iusforming adjectives from nouns; nominative neuter...
14Proto-Italic-jōsForms comparative adjectives

via English soft

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishsoftEasily giving way under pressure; Smooth and...
2Middle Englishsoftesoft
3Old Englishsōftesoftly
4Proto-West Germanicsamftōsoftly, gently
5Proto-West GermanicCreates adverbs from adjectives; Creates agent...
6Proto-Germanic-ly; Forms agent nouns, often from the zero-grade...
7Proto-Indo-EuropeanDerives nouns from roots
Every word from Proto-Italic -jōs