Where does “square” come from?
square (Middle English) comes from Old French esquarre, from Vulgar Latin exquadra, from Latin ex, from Latin commūnicō, from Latin commūnis, from Old Latin com(m)oinis, from Proto-Italic kommoinis, from Proto-Indo-European ḱom-moy-ni- — to bend; curve; arch; vault; to bow, bend, arch,...
square (Middle English): A square tool used to ensure a right angle
Definitions
- A square tool used to ensure a right angle
Ancestry of “square”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old French | esquarre | square |
| 2 | Vulgar Latin | exquadra | — |
| 3 | Latin | ex | A name of the letter "X"; out of, from |
| 4 | Latin | commūnicō | to impart, share |
| 5 | Latin | commūnis | common, commonplace, ordinary, general, universal, shared, shared alike, of both sides, belonging to two or more together |
| 6 | Old Latin | com(m)oinis | — |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | kommoinis | common |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱom-moy-ni- | held in common |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱóm | beside, near, by, with |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱe | Deictic particle, here; Post-positional... |
| 11 | Middle English | kyt | — |
| 12 | German | kitt | putty certain kinds of cement used for fixing e.g. window panes |
| 13 | Old High German | kuti | — |
| 14 | Proto-West Germanic | kwidu | gum, resin |
| 15 | Proto-Germanic | kweduz | resin |
| 16 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷet- | resin, gum; to say, speak |
| 17 | Proto-Indo-European | gū- | to bend; curve; arch; vault; to bow, bend, arch,... |