Where does “spanking new” come from?
spanking new (English) comes from English spanking, from English -ing, from Old English -ing, from Old English -tūn, from Old English tūn, from Proto-West Germanic tūn, from Proto-Germanic tūną, from Gaulish dunum — smoke; mist, haze.
spanking new (English): Utterly new, as new as possible
Definitions
- Utterly new, as new as possible
Ancestry of “spanking new”, step by step
spanking new traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English spanking
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | spanking | present participle of spank; Fast and energetic;... |
| 2 | English | -ing | Used to form gerunds, a type of verbal nouns,... |
| 3 | Old English | -ing | Forming nouns from verbs, indicating action,... |
| 4 | Old English | -tūn | homestead, village, town |
| 5 | Old English | tūn | enclosure, yard; place; dwelling |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | tūn | fence |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | tūną | fence; enclosure |
| 8 | Gaulish | dunum | fort; hill, hillfort |
| 9 | Proto-Celtic | dūnom | stronghold, rampart |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | dʰewh₂- | smoke; mist, haze |
via English New
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | New | made, or created |
| 2 | English | MAN | Initialism of Metropolitan Area Network |
| 3 | English | manual | A handbook; A booklet that instructs on the usage... |
| 4 | Middle English | manuel | — |
| 5 | Anglo-Norman | manuel | manual; done with the hands; handle; manual;... |
| 6 | Old French | manual | — |
| 7 | Latin | manuālis | hand |
| 8 | Latin | manus | hand; bravery, valor; violence, fighting |
| 9 | Proto-Italic | manus | hand |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | man- | human being; man; hand |