Where does “smal som en pinne” come from?
smal som en pinne (Swedish) comes from Swedish pinne, from Old Norse pinni, from Proto-Germanic penn-, from Latin penna, from Proto-Italic petnā, from Proto-Indo-European péth₂r̥, from Proto-Indo-European peth₂- — to spread out; to fly.
smal som en pinne (Swedish): as thin as a stick, as thin as a rake (very thin, usually of a person)
Definitions
- as thin as a stick, as thin as a rake (very thin, usually of a person)
Ancestry of “smal som en pinne”, step by step
smal som en pinne traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via Swedish pinne
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Swedish | pinne | a stick; a short thin roughly cylindrical form of... |
| 2 | Old Norse | pinni | a pin |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | penn- | — |
| 4 | Latin | penna | wing; feather, especially a flight-feather;... |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | petnā | feather; wing |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | péth₂r̥ | wing; feather |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | peth₂- | to spread out; to fly |
via Swedish söm
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Swedish | söm | seam |
| 2 | Swedish | -nad | suffix used to create nouns, particularly from... |
| 3 | Old Norse | -naðr | suffix used to create nouns, particularly from... |
| 4 | Old Norse | -aðr | suffix used to create adjectives meaning “having,... |
| 5 | Proto-Norse | -ᛟᚦᚢᛉ | — |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | -ōdaz | Forms adjectives from nouns, indicating the... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -tós | Creates verbal adjectives from verb stems |