Where does “soundtrack” come from?

Soundtrack derives from English sound, which comes from Middle English sounden, Old French sonder, Proto-Germanic gasundaz, and ultimately Latin sonus meaning noise or resonant vibration.

soundtrack (English): A narrow strip running down a movie film that...

Definitions

  1. A narrow strip running down a movie film that...

Ancestry of “soundtrack”, step by step

soundtrack traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English track

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishtrackA mark left by something that has passed along; A...
2Middle Englishtrak—
3Old Frenchtractrack of horses, trail, trace; track; a track,...
4Middle Dutchtreck—
5Old Dutchtrecken—
6Proto-West Germanic*trakkjanto drag
7Proto-Germanictrakjanąto drag
8Proto-Germanic-janąDerives denominatives from nouns and factitives...
9Proto-Indo-European-yétiCreates intransitive, often deponent,...
10Proto-Indo-Europeanyé-—
11Chichewaiyehe, she

via English Sound

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishSoundThe strait that separates Zealand (an island of Denmark) from Scania (part of Sweden); also sometimes called by the Danish name, Øresund
2Middle Englishsound—
3Old Englishsundswimming; sea, water
4Old Norsesundswimming; strait, sound; swimming, sound
5Proto-Germanicsundąswimming; sound, strait
6Proto-Germanicswimmanąto be unsteady; to swim; float
7Proto-Indo-Europeanswem(bʰ)-to bend, turn, swing; to be unsteady, move, swim

Words derived from “soundtrack”

Every word from Chichewa iye →Every word from Proto-Germanic -janą →Every word from Proto-Indo-European -yéti →