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 iyeEvery word from Proto-Germanic -janąEvery word from Proto-Indo-European -yéti