Where does “whitewash” come from?
Whitewash comes from English white and wash, with white tracing from Middle English whit, Old English hwīt, Proto-Germanic hwītaz, and Proto-Indo-European wed-, meaning to separate or divide.
whitewash (English): A lime and water mixture for painting walls and...
Definitions
- A lime and water mixture for painting walls and...
Ancestry of “whitewash”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | White | Alternative letter-case form of white; An... |
| 2 | English | sox | plural of sock |
| 3 | English | socks | plural of sock; Third-person singular simple... |
| 4 | English | sock | A knitted or woven covering for the foot; A shoe... |
| 5 | French | soc | plowshare; Boston butt |
| 6 | Vulgar Latin | soccus | — |
| 7 | Proto-Celtic | sukkos | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | suH- | pig, hog, swine |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | sewH- | to bear; to give birth |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | sew- | to press out, extract; juice; liquid, rain; to... |
Words derived from “whitewash”