English
elbow
Elbow comes from Middle English elbowe, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *alinabugô.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*alinabugôreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150elboga
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500elbowe
- Englishearliest quotation 1627elbow
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*alinabugôreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150elboga
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500elbowe
- Englishearliest quotation 1627elbow
Earliest quotation: 1627, Michael Drayton, The Moone-Calfe: “Up to the elbowes naked were there Armes.”
Proto-Indo-European *Heh₃l- ‘elbow, forearm’
…
Proto-Germanic *alinō ‘elbow’
Proto-West Germanic *alinu ‘forearm, ell’
Old English eln ‘the length of the forearm from the elbow to…’
Middle English elle
English ell
Proto-Indo-European *bʰewgʰ- ‘to bend’
Proto-Indo-European *bʰugʰ-
Proto-Germanic *bugô ‘bow (weapon)’
Old English boga ‘bow (weapon)’
Middle English bowe
English bow
Every English word from Proto-Germanic *alinabugô
Today it means
noun The joint between the upper arm and the forearm.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *alinabugô / elbow