Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “windbreaker” come from?

Windbreaker combines English wind with a word ultimately deriving from Proto-Indo-European h₂weh₁- meaning to blow or move through air.

windbreaker (English): A thin outer coat designed to resist wind chill...

Definitions

  1. A thin outer coat designed to resist wind chill...

Ancestry of “windbreaker”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishbreakerSomething that breaks; A machine for breaking...
2English-erA person or thing that does an action indicated...
3Middle English-eragentive suffix; agent noun suffix
4Old French-erAlternative form of -ier, verbal suffix;...
5Latin-āre—
6Proto-Italic-āōForms primarily denominative verbs
7Proto-Indo-European-eh₂yétiCreates iterative/ frequentative/ intensive...
8Proto-Indo-European-yétiCreates intransitive, often deponent,...
9Proto-Indo-Europeanyé-—
10Chichewaiyehe, she
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