Where does “try-baby” come from?
try-baby (English) comes from English crybaby, from English baby, from Middle English baby, from Middle English -y, from Old English -iġ, from Proto-West Germanic -g, from Proto-Germanic -gaz, from Proto-Indo-European -ḱos — -y, -ic.
try-baby (English): A person who makes an attempt without being fully committed to success
Definitions
- A person who makes an attempt without being fully committed to success
Ancestry of “try-baby”, step by step
try-baby traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English crybaby
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | crybaby | A baby who cries excessively; Someone whose... |
| 2 | English | baby | A very young human, particularly from birth to a... |
| 3 | Middle English | baby | A child or baby |
| 4 | Middle English | -y | Designates an adjective, in many cases formed by... |
| 5 | Old English | -iġ | -y, -ic |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | -g | Forms adjectives from nouns and verbs with a... |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | -gaz | -y |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -ḱos | -y, -ic |
via English try
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | try | To attempt; to endeavour. Followed by infinitive;... |
| 2 | Middle English | trien | to try a legal case |
| 3 | Old French | trier | to choose; to select; to sort; to find |
| 4 | Latin | triare | to pick out |
| 5 | Latin | trito | dative masculine singular of trītus; dative... |
| 6 | Latin | tritus | rubbed, triturated; worn out or away, well-worn |
| 7 | Latin | tero | I rub or triturate; I wear away or wear out; I... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | terh₁- | to rub, turn; to drill, pierce |