Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “bocstaf” come from?

bocstaf (Middle English) comes from Old English bōcstæf, from Old English bōc, from Proto-Germanic bōk, from Proto-Germanic bakaną, from Proto-Indo-European bʰeh₃g- — to bake, to roast, to fry.

bocstaf (Middle English): letter; symbol; written character

Definitions

  1. letter; symbol; written character

Ancestry of “bocstaf”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishbōcstæfletter, written character; alphabetic symbol,...
2Old Englishbōcbeech; book
3Proto-Germanicbōk—
4Proto-Germanicbakanąto bake
5Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰeh₃g-to bake, to roast, to fry

Words derived from “bocstaf”

  • bookstave
Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰeh₃g- →