Where does “dreadlocks” come from?
dreadlocks (Jamaican Creole) comes from Jamaican Creole dread, from English dread, from Middle English dreden, from Old English drǣdan, from Old English ondrǣdan, from Proto-West Germanic andarādan, from Proto-West Germanic anda-, from Proto-Germanic anda- — on, onto.
Ancestry of “dreadlocks”, step by step
dreadlocks traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Jamaican Creole dread
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jamaican Creole | dread | — |
| 2 | English | dread | To fear greatly; To anticipate with fear; To be... |
| 3 | Middle English | dreden | To fear or dread |
| 4 | Old English | drǣdan | to fear, dread |
| 5 | Old English | ondrǣdan | to fear, dread |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | andarādan | to be afraid, fear; to be in awe |
| 7 | Proto-West Germanic | anda- | against, opposing; in return, back; facing,... |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | anda- | against, opposing; un-, de- |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂énti | opposite; near; in front |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂énts | forehead; front |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂ent- | face; forehead; front |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂en- | on, onto |
via English locks
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | locks | plural of lock; an head of hair, tresses;... |