English
cracking
Cracking comes from Middle English crakynge, and goes back to craken.
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500craken
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500crakynge
- Englishearliest quotation 1886cracking
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500craken
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500crakynge
- Englishearliest quotation 1886cracking
Earliest quotation: 1886, – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard: “From the spot where the body lay came a…”
Every English word from Middle English craken
Today it means
noun The thermal decomposition of a substance, especially that of crude petroleum in order to produce petrol / gasoline.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle English craken / cracking