Where does “workaround” come from?

Workaround comes from English work and around, with work tracing through Middle English werk and the prefix a- (from Middle French a- and Latin ad-, meaning "to" or "toward") back to Proto-Indo-European ád.

workaround (English): A means of overcoming some obstacle, especially...

Definitions

  1. A means of overcoming some obstacle, especially...

Ancestry of “workaround”, step by step

workaround traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English around

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglisharoundDefining a circle or closed curve containing a...
2Middle Englisharoundeabout the margin, along the periphery
3Middle Englishroundcircle, round
4Old Frenchreontround
5Latinretundusround
6Latinrotundusround, circular; spherical, rotund; rounded,...
7Latinrotōto turn, trend, wheel, roll, swing about, whirl, rotate; brandish
8LatinRotaan ecclesiastical appellate court in the Catholic...
9Proto-Italicrotā
10Proto-Indo-EuropeanHróth₂-eh₂
11Proto-Indo-EuropeanHreth₂-to run

via English work

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishwork"Employment."; "Effort."; Sustained effort to...
2Middle Englishwerkwork
3Old Englishweorcwork, in various senses, including
4Proto-West Germanicwerkwork
5Proto-Germanicwerkąwork
6Proto-Indo-Europeanwérǵomwork
7Proto-Indo-Europeanwerǵ-to make

Words derived from “workaround

Every word from Proto-Indo-European Hreth₂-