Where does “light-foot” come from?
light-foot (Middle English) comes from Middle English foot, from Middle English fot, from Old English fōt, from Proto-West Germanic fōt, from Proto-Germanic fōts, from Proto-Indo-European pṓds, from Proto-Indo-European póds, from Proto-Indo-European ped- — to walk, to step; to stumble, to fall.
Ancestry of “light-foot”, step by step
light-foot traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English foot
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | foot | Alternative form of fot; Alternative form of... |
| 2 | Middle English | fot | foot; The bottom, lower part or foundation of... |
| 3 | Old English | fōt | foot |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | fōt | foot |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | fōts | foot |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | pṓds | foot |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | póds | foot |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | ped- | to walk, to step; to stumble, to fall |
via Middle English light
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | light | The radiation which allows for vision by... |
| 2 | Old English | lēoht | luminous, bright, light, clear, resplendent,... |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | leuht | light, bright; light |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | leuhtą | light |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | lewktom | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | lewk- | bright; to shine; to see |