Where does “trigger finger” come from?
trigger finger (English) comes from English trigger, from Dutch trekker, from Dutch trekken, from Middle Dutch trecken, from Old Dutch trecken, from Proto-West Germanic *trakkjan, from Proto-Germanic trakjaną, from Proto-Germanic -janą — he, she.
trigger finger (English): a finger used in pulling the trigger of a...
Definitions
- a finger used in pulling the trigger of a...
Ancestry of “trigger finger”, step by step
trigger finger traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English trigger
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | trigger | A finger-operated lever used to fire a gun; A... |
| 2 | Dutch | trekker | puller; trigger; tractor |
| 3 | Dutch | trekken | to pull, to draw; to manage, to have the strength... |
| 4 | Middle Dutch | trecken | to pull or draw to oneself; to go to another... |
| 5 | Old Dutch | trecken | — |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | *trakkjan | to drag |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | trakjaną | to drag |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | -janą | Derives denominatives from nouns and factitives... |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -yéti | Creates intransitive, often deponent,... |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | yé- | — |
| 11 | Chichewa | iye | he, she |
via English finger
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | finger | A slender jointed extremity of the human hand, (often) exclusive of the thumb, and the corresponding part, irrespective of including a thumb, in many other animals |
| 2 | German | Finger | finger |
| 3 | Middle High German | vinger | finger |
| 4 | Old High German | fingar | finger |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | fingr | finger |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | fingraz | finger |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | penkʷrós | — |