Where does “squarely” come from?
Squarely derives from Middle English -ly, Old English -līċ, Latin exquirere, Latin ex-, and Latin ex, ultimately from Latin caput meaning head.
squarely (English): in the shape of a square; at right angles; firmly...
Definitions
- in the shape of a square; at right angles; firmly...
Ancestry of “squarely”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | square | A polygon with four sides of equal length and... |
| 2 | Middle English | square | A square tool used to ensure a right angle |
| 3 | Old French | esquarre | square |
| 4 | Vulgar Latin | exquadra | — |
| 5 | Latin | ex | A name of the letter "X"; out of, from |
| 6 | Latin | commūnicō | to impart, share |
| 7 | Latin | commūnis | common, commonplace, ordinary, general, universal, shared, shared alike, of both sides, belonging to two or more together |
| 8 | Old Latin | com(m)oinis | — |
| 9 | Proto-Italic | kommoinis | common |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱom-moy-ni- | held in common |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱóm | beside, near, by, with |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱe | Deictic particle, here; Post-positional... |
| 13 | Middle English | kyt | — |
| 14 | German | kitt | putty certain kinds of cement used for fixing e.g. window panes |
| 15 | Old High German | kuti | — |
| 16 | Proto-West Germanic | kwidu | gum, resin |
| 17 | Proto-Germanic | kweduz | resin |