Where does “storyline” come from?
I appreciate the detailed instructions, but I need to flag an issue: the provided etymological chain doesn't actually support "storyline" as a headword. The chain traces: English line → Old French estorer → Latin instaurare, etc. This chain connects to "line" (or possibly "restore/story" via Old French), but "storyline" is a compound word formed from "story" + "line." The chain provided doesn't include the etymology of "story" itself, which would be necessary to etymologize "storyline" accurately. To write an honest one-sentence summary per your rules, I would need either: 1. The complete chain for "storyline" as a compound, or 2. A different headword that matches the provided chain (like "line," "linden," or "restore") I can't invent the missing "story" etymology without violating your rule: "State only what the
storyline (English): The plot of a story; A narrative description of a...
Definitions
- The plot of a story; A narrative description of a...
Ancestry of “storyline”, step by step
storyline traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English story
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | story | A sequence of real or fictional events; or, an... |
| 2 | Middle English | storie | The spoken or textual recounting of historic... |
| 3 | Old French | estorie | Alternative form of estoire |
| 4 | Latin | historia | history; account; story |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | ἱστορία | inquiry, examination, systematic observation,... |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | ἱστορέω | to inquire, ask; to examine, observe; to record,... |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | ἵστωρ | one who knows law and right, judge; witness; a... |
| 8 | Proto-Hellenic | wístōr | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | wéydtōr | one who has seen, one who knows |
| 10 | Indo-European | *weyd- | — |
via English line
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | line | A path through two or more points (compare ‘segment’); a continuous mark, including as made by a pen; any path, curved or straight |
| 2 | Middle English | line | rope, cord; line, rule, ruler, measure; rule,... |
| 3 | Old English | līne | line, rope, cord; line, cable, rope, hawser,... |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | *līnā | line, chord, rope, string |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | līnǭ | that which is made of flax; line, chord, rope,... |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | līną | flax |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | līno- | flax |