Etymograph

English

Goldilocks

Apparently from goldilocks, equivalent to goldy + locks (“tuft of hair, curl”).

Formed from goldy + lock ‘tuft of hair, curl’

Middle English goldy

English goldy

Proto-Indo-European *lewg- ‘to bend’

Proto-Germanic *luką

Proto-West Germanic *lok ‘shutter’

Old English loc

Middle English lok

English lock

Today it means

name A golden-haired young girl, featuring as the protagonist of a traditional fairy tale, who inquisitively enters the house of three bears and tries their three bowls of porridge, three chairs, and three beds, in each case finding only one that suits her.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Goldilocks