Where does “spacecraft” come from?
Spacecraft derives from English space and Old English cræft, ultimately tracing through Latin spatium to Proto-Indo-European speh₁-.
spacecraft (English): A vehicle that travels through space
Definitions
- A vehicle that travels through space
Ancestry of “spacecraft”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | -craft | Denoting a skill of a particular kind; Denoting a... |
| 2 | Middle English | -craft | — |
| 3 | Old English | -cræft | denoting an art or science; denoting strength or... |
| 4 | Old English | cræft | strength, power; skill; art |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | kraftu | strength, power; skill |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | kraftuz | strength, power |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | -þuz | Forms result nouns from verb roots, usually from... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -tus | Derives action nouns from verb roots |