Where does “spindle-shanked” come from?
spindle-shanked (English) comes from English spindle, from Middle English spyndel, from Old English spinel, from Proto-West Germanic spinnilu, from Proto-West Germanic spinnan, from Proto-Germanic spinnaną, from Proto-Indo-European (s)pénh₁-ne-, from Proto-Indo-European (s)penh₁- — to twist; to weave.
spindle-shanked (English): Thin and lanky, with long legs
Definitions
- Thin and lanky, with long legs
Ancestry of “spindle-shanked”, step by step
spindle-shanked traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English spindle
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | spindle | A rod used for spinning and then winding natural... |
| 2 | Middle English | spyndel | A spindle; An rod that objects revolve around; a... |
| 3 | Old English | spinel | spindle |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | spinnilu | spindle |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | spinnan | to spin |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | spinnaną | to spin |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)pénh₁-ne- | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)penh₁- | to twist; to weave |
via English shanked
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | shanked | simple past tense and past participle of shank;... |