Where does “widescreen” come from?
Widescreen comes from English wide and Middle English scren, from Old French escran, from Middle Dutch scherm, from Old Dutch skirm, ultimately deriving from Proto-Indo-European roots meaning to protect or separate.
widescreen (English): A screen with a wider aspect ratio than the...
Definitions
- A screen with a wider aspect ratio than the...
Ancestry of “widescreen”, step by step
widescreen traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English screen
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | screen | A physical divider intended to block an area from... |
| 2 | Middle English | scren | — |
| 3 | Anglo-Norman | escren | firescreen, the tester of a bed; Alternative form... |
| 4 | Old French | escren | Alternative form of escran |
| 5 | Middle Dutch | scherm | protective screen; protection, cover |
| 6 | Old Dutch | skirm | protection |
| 7 | Proto-West Germanic | skirmi | fur, hide, pelt; covering, shelter, screen |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | skirmiz | fur, hide, pelt; covering, shelter, screen |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | sḱer- | to caw, crow |
via English wide
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | wide | Having a large physical extent from side to side;... |
| 2 | Old English | wīd | wide, vast, broad, long; distant, far |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | wīdaz | wide; broad |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁weydʰh₁os | set apart, asunder, in two |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | dwi- | two; apart, asunder |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | dwóh₁ | two |