English
fiddlestick
Fiddlestick comes from Middle English fydylstyk.
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fydylstyk
- Englishearliest quotation 1955fiddlestick
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fydylstyk
- Englishearliest quotation 1955fiddlestick
Earliest quotation: 1955, Clive Staples Lewis, The Magician’s Nephew: “A—a most distinguished visitor has just arrived." "Distinguished fiddlestick!"…”
Proto-Germanic *fiþulǭ
Proto-West Germanic *fiþulā
Old English *fiþele ‘fiddle or violin’
Middle English fithele ‘a string instrument played with a bow’
English fiddle
Proto-Indo-European *(s)teyg- ‘to be sharp’
…
Proto-Germanic *stikkô ‘pole’
Proto-West Germanic *stikkō ‘stick’
Old English sticca ‘stick’
Middle English sticke ‘branch’
English stick
Every English word from Middle English fydylstyk
Today it means
noun One of a pair of sticks, similar to drumsticks, used by a second player to percuss the strings of a fiddle while the main player plays via bow.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle English fydylstyk / fiddlestick