Where does “kingpin” come from?

kingpin (Tagalog) comes from English kingpin, from English King, from Middle English king, from Old English cyning, from Old English tūn, from Proto-West Germanic tūn, from Proto-Germanic tūną, from Gaulish dunum — smoke; mist, haze.

kingpin (Tagalog): kingpin

Definitions

  1. kingpin

Ancestry of “kingpin”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishkingpinThe axis around which steered wheels pivot; a...
2EnglishKingradiotelephony clear-code word for the letter K
3Middle Englishkingking monarch
4Old Englishcyningking
5Old Englishtūnenclosure, yard; place; dwelling
6Proto-West Germanictūnfence
7Proto-Germanictūnąfence; enclosure
8Gaulishdunumfort; hill, hillfort
9Proto-Celticdūnomstronghold, rampart
10Proto-Indo-Europeandʰewh₂-smoke; mist, haze
Every word from Proto-Indo-European dʰewh₂-