Where does “thumbnail” come from?
Thumbnail comes from English thumb plus nail, with thumb tracing back through Middle English thoumbe and Old English þūma to Proto-Indo-European roots.
thumbnail (English): The fingernail on the thumb; A rough sketch; A...
Definitions
- The fingernail on the thumb; A rough sketch; A...
Ancestry of “thumbnail”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | thumb | The short thick digit of the hand that for humans... |
| 2 | Middle English | þombe | thumb; thumb-length; big toe |
| 3 | Old English | þūma | thumb |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | þūmō | thumb |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | þūmô | thumb |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | tūm- | to grow; to swell, to increase; to swell, be... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | tewh₂- | to swell; to crowd; to be strong |
Words derived from “thumbnail”