Where does “rompecabezas” come from?
rompecabezas (Spanish) comes from Spanish cabeza, from Old Spanish cabeça, from Vulgar Latin capitia, from Latin capitium, from Latin caput, from Proto-Italic kaput, from Proto-Indo-European káput, from Proto-Indo-European kap- — to seize, hold.
rompecabezas (Spanish): A jigsaw puzzle
Ancestry of “rompecabezas”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Spanish | cabeza | head; mind; guy, dude |
| 2 | Old Spanish | cabeça | head |
| 3 | Vulgar Latin | capitia | — |
| 4 | Latin | capitium | covering for the head; opening in a tunic for the... |
| 5 | Latin | caput | head; headlike protuberance on an organ or body... |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | kaput | head |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | káput | head |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | kap- | to seize, hold |