Where does “toothpicky” come from?
toothpicky (English) comes from English toothpick, from English pick, from Middle English piken, from Middle English pyke, from Old English pīc, from Proto-Germanic *pīk, from Latin pix, from Proto-Indo-European pik- — sap, juice.
toothpicky (English): Resembling or characteristic of a toothpick
Definitions
- Resembling or characteristic of a toothpick
Ancestry of “toothpicky”, step by step
toothpicky traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English toothpick
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | toothpick | A small, usually wooden, stick, often pointed at... |
| 2 | English | pick | A tool used for digging; a pickaxe; A tool for... |
| 3 | Middle English | piken | To pick at; to use a edged tool on; To pierce or... |
| 4 | Middle English | pyke | A sharp round point or projection; A point or end... |
| 5 | Old English | pīc | pointed object, pick axe |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | *pīk | — |
| 7 | Latin | pix | pitch, tar |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | pik- | to be angry; pitch; resin |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | pi- | sap, juice |
via English Y
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Y | A figure or mark in the shape of the letter Y; A... |
| 2 | English | yuri | A narrative or visual work featuring a romance or... |
| 3 | Japanese | 百合 | lily |
| 4 | Japanese | 連用形 | an inflectional category: the continuative or... |
| 5 | Japanese | 見る | to see, to watch, to observe, to look at... |
| 6 | Japanese | 夢 | a dream; a vision; leaving reality to the state... |
| 7 | Old Japanese | 夢 | a dream |
| 8 | Japanese | 目 | an order in biology: smaller than a class, bigger... |
| 9 | Middle Chinese | 目 | — |