Where does “chiffe” come from?
chiffe (Middle French) comes from Old French chipe, from Middle English chip, from Old English ċipp, from Old English ċippian, from Proto-Germanic kipp-, from Proto-Indo-European ǵey- — to split; divide; germinate; sprout; to split;...
chiffe (Middle French): cloth, old rag
Definitions
- cloth, old rag
Ancestry of “chiffe”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old French | chipe | rag; bit, scrap |
| 2 | Middle English | chip | fragment, worthless thing; chip, shard, fragment |
| 3 | Old English | ċipp | chip; small piece of wood; chip, splinter,... |
| 4 | Old English | ċippian | to cut; hew |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | kipp- | to chop; split; to cut; carve; hack; chop |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵey- | to split; divide; germinate; sprout; to split;... |