Where does “spike” come from?

spike (Middle English) comes from Old Norse spík, from Proto-Germanic spiką, from Proto-Indo-European spēy- — to stretch; thrive; succeed.

Ancestry of “spike”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Norsespíkspike, sprig
2Proto-Germanicspikąbacon
3Proto-Indo-Europeanspēy-to stretch; thrive; succeed

Words derived from “spike”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European spēy- →Every word from Proto-Germanic spiką →Every word from Old Norse spík →