Where does “u-boat” come from?
u-boat (English) comes from German U-Boot, from German Unterseeboot, from German boot, from Middle Low German bōt, from Middle English bot, from Old English bāt, from Proto-West Germanic bait, from Proto-Germanic baitaz — bee.
u-boat (English): Any German submarine of the First or Second World War, or any Austro-Hungarian submarine of the First World War
Definitions
- Any German submarine of the First or Second World War, or any Austro-Hungarian submarine of the First World War
Ancestry of “u-boat”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | German | U-Boot | a U-boat or submarine |
| 2 | German | Unterseeboot | submarine |
| 3 | German | boot | boat |
| 4 | Middle Low German | bōt | — |
| 5 | Middle English | bot | A seafaring vessel or watercraft; a device for... |
| 6 | Old English | bāt | that which can be bitten, food, bait; boat, ship,... |
| 7 | Proto-West Germanic | bait | boat, ship |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | baitaz | boat, ship |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰeyd- | to split |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰey- | bee |