Where does “tight-lipped” come from?

tight-lipped (English) comes from English lipped, from English lip, from German lippe, from Yiddish ליפּ, from Middle High German lippe, from Old High German *lippa, from Proto-Germanic *lippjō.

tight-lipped (English): Having the lips pressed together; Unwilling to...

Definitions

  1. Having the lips pressed together; Unwilling to...

Ancestry of “tight-lipped”, step by step

tight-lipped traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English lipped

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishlippedHaving a raised lip; Having some specific type of...
2EnglishlipEither of the two fleshy protrusions around the...
3Germanlippelip
4Yiddishליפּlip
5Middle High Germanlippe—
6Old High German*lippa—
7Proto-Germanic*lippjō—

via English tight

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishtightFirmly held together; compact; not loose or open;...
2Middle Englishtight—
3Old Englishþiht—

Words derived from “tight-lipped”

Every word from Proto-Germanic *lippjō →Every word from Old High German *lippa →Every word from Middle High German lippe →