Where does “spring chicken” come from?
spring chicken (English) comes from English Chicken, from English -en, from Middle English -en, from Old English -en, from Old Norse -inn, from Proto-Norse -īna-, from Proto-Germanic -īnaz, from Proto-Indo-European -iHnos — adjectival suffix.
spring chicken (English): A chicken for eating while it is still young
Definitions
- A chicken for eating while it is still young
Ancestry of “spring chicken”, step by step
spring chicken traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Chicken
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Chicken | A domesticated subspecies of red junglefowl (Gallus gallus domesticus) |
| 2 | English | -en | Denotes the past participle form when attached to... |
| 3 | Middle English | -en | Denotes the past participle form when attached to... |
| 4 | Old English | -en | mæġþ + API → mæġden; cocc + API → cycen, cicen;... |
| 5 | Old Norse | -inn | Used to create adjectives from nouns, meaning... |
| 6 | Proto-Norse | -īna- | — |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | -īnaz | -en |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -iHnos | Creates adjectives of materials |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -no- | adjectival suffix |
via English spring
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | spring | To burst forth; To grow; To cause to burst forth |
| 2 | Romanian | Șpring | — |
| 3 | German | spring | singular imperative of springen; first-person... |
| 4 | German | springen | to spring; to leap; to bounce; to dive; to jump;... |
| 5 | Old High German | springan | — |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | springaną | to spring, to jump up; to burst, to explode |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | spr̥ǵʰ | — |