Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “thumbnailer” come from?

thumbnailer (English) comes from English thumbnail, from English thumb, from Middle English þombe, from Old English þūma, from Proto-West Germanic þūmō, from Proto-Germanic þūmô, from Proto-Indo-European tūm-, from Proto-Indo-European tewh₂- — to swell; to crowd; to be strong.

thumbnailer (English): A program that generates thumbnail images

Definitions

  1. A program that generates thumbnail images

Ancestry of “thumbnailer”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishthumbnailThe fingernail on the thumb; A rough sketch; A...
2EnglishthumbThe short thick digit of the hand that for humans...
3Middle Englishþombethumb; thumb-length; big toe
4Old Englishþūmathumb
5Proto-West Germanicþūmōthumb
6Proto-Germanicþūmôthumb
7Proto-Indo-Europeantūm-to grow; to swell, to increase; to swell, be...
8Proto-Indo-Europeantewh₂-to swell; to crowd; to be strong
Every word from Proto-Indo-European tewh₂- →