Where does “topsoil” come from?
Topsoil comes from English top and Old French saoler, from Old French soillier, from Latin solium, from Latin solum meaning ground or soil, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European sed-.
topsoil (English): The most fertile soil, easiest to start new...
Definitions
- The most fertile soil, easiest to start new...
Ancestry of “topsoil”, step by step
topsoil traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English top
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | top | The highest or uppermost part of something; A... |
| 2 | Middle English | top | The summit or top of something, especially a... |
| 3 | Old English | topp | top, summit (of something) |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | *topp | top, summit, crest |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | tuppaz | tuft, plait; top, summit |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | dumb- | tail, rod, staff, pole, penis; tail, rod, staff,... |