Where does “spillikin” come from?

spillikin (English) comes from English kin, from English fictionkin, from English fiction, from Middle English ficcioun, from Old French ficcion, from Latin fictio, from Latin -tiō, from Latin dissertātiō — small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble.

spillikin (English): One of the straws (or small pieces of wood, ivory, etc.) used in the game of jackstraws or spillikins

Definitions

  1. One of the straws (or small pieces of wood, ivory, etc.) used in the game of jackstraws or spillikins

Ancestry of “spillikin”, step by step

spillikin traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English kin

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishkinRace; family; breed; kind; Persons of the same...
2EnglishfictionkinAn individual whose personal identity is based in fiction of some kind: a fictional character, a fictional race or species, etc
3EnglishfictionLiterary type using invented or imaginative...
4Middle EnglishficciounAn invention or fabrication
5Old Frenchficciondissimulation, ruse, invention
6Latinfictiofashioning, forming, formation; fiction
7Latin-tiōtion, -ation, -ing
8Latindissertātiō(spoken) dissertation, discourse, disquisition
9Latindissertusarranged, disposed; explained
10Latindissereresecond-person singular future passive indicative...
11Latindis-asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;...
12Latincalceusshoe
13Latincalxlimestone; chalk; the finish line
14Ancient Greekχάλιξsmall stone, pebble; gravel, rubble

via English spill

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishspillTo drop something so that it spreads out or makes...
2Middle EnglishspillenTo slaughter, eliminate; to cause the death of;...
3Old Englishspillanto destroy; spill
4Proto-Germanicspillijanąto split
5Proto-Indo-Europeanspel-to break; to break off, split; to cleave, break
Every word from Ancient Greek χάλιξEvery word from Latin -tiōEvery word from Latin dis-
spillikin — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer