Where does “flint” come from?
flint (Middle English) comes from Middle English flynt, from Old English flint, from Proto-West Germanic *flint, from Proto-Germanic flintaz, from Proto-Indo-European splind-, from Proto-Indo-European (s)plei- — to split, splice; to divide, split, splice.
flint (Middle English): Alternative form of flynt
Definitions
- Alternative form of flynt
Ancestry of “flint”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | flynt | Any of a group of solid stones, especially... |
| 2 | Old English | flint | — |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | *flint | — |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | flintaz | — |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | splind- | to split, cleave; split |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)plei- | to split, splice; to divide, split, splice |
Words derived from “flint”