Where does “trunkful” come from?
trunkful (English) comes from English trunk, from Middle English tronke, from Old French tronc, from Latin truncus, from Proto-Indo-European twerḱ- — to carve, cut off, trim.
trunkful (English): As much as a trunk will hold
Definitions
- As much as a trunk will hold
Ancestry of “trunkful”, step by step
trunkful traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English trunk
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | trunk | "Part of a body."; "A container."; "A channel for... |
| 2 | Middle English | tronke | A large chest or storage container; A container... |
| 3 | Old French | tronc | alms box, tree trunk, headless body; trunk |
| 4 | Latin | truncus | lopped, docked; maimed, mangled, mutilated; A... |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | twerḱ- | to carve, cut off, trim |
via English ful
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | ful | — |