Where does “unkink” come from?

unkink (English) comes from English kink, from Middle English kinken, from Old English cincian, from Proto-West Germanic kinkōn, from Proto-Germanic kinkōną, from Proto-Indo-European ganǵ- — to mock, insult.

unkink (English): To remove the kinks from

Definitions

  1. To remove the kinks from

Ancestry of “unkink”, step by step

unkink traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English kink

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishkinkTo laugh loudly; To gasp for breath as in a...
2Middle Englishkinken
3Old Englishcincianto laugh loudly; cackle
4Proto-West Germanickinkōn
5Proto-Germanickinkōnąto laugh loudly, kink
6Proto-Indo-Europeanganǵ-to mock, insult

via English un

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishunOne
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ganǵ-Every word from Proto-Germanic kinkōnąEvery word from Proto-West Germanic kinkōn