Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “swashbuckle” come from?

swashbuckle (English) comes from English swashbuckler, from English buckler, from Middle English bukler, from Old French bocler, from Vulgar Latin buccularius, from Latin buccula, from Latin -ulus, from Proto-Italic -olos — Forms agent nouns from verbal roots.

swashbuckle (English): To take part in exciting romantic adventures

Definitions

  1. To take part in exciting romantic adventures

Ancestry of “swashbuckle”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishswashbucklerA swordsman or fencer who engages in showy or...
2EnglishbucklerOne who buckles something; A kind of shield, of...
3Middle Englishbukler—
4Old Frenchbocler—
5Vulgar Latinbucculariusbossed
6Latinbucculalittle cheek or mouth; the beaver, part of a...
7Latin-ulusUsed to form a diminutive of a noun, indicating...
8Proto-Italic-olos—
9Proto-Italic-elos—
10Proto-Indo-European-e-lós—
11Proto-Indo-European-lósForms agent nouns from verbal roots
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -lós →