English
hamstring
Hamstring comes from English ham ‘region back of the knee joint’.
- English1500–presentham‘region back of the knee joint’
- Englishearliest quotation 1641hamstring
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- English1500–presentham‘region back of the knee joint’
- Englishearliest quotation 1641hamstring
Earliest quotation: 1641, John Milton: “So have they hamstrung the valor of the subject…”
A compound of ham ‘region back of the knee joint’ + string
Proto-Indo-European *kónh₂m ‘leg’
Proto-Germanic *hamō
Proto-West Germanic *hammu
Old English hamm ‘inner or hind part of the knee, ham’
Middle English hamme ‘the back or inside of the knee’
English ham
Proto-Indo-European *strengʰ- ‘rope’
Proto-Germanic *strangiz
Proto-West Germanic *strangi
Old English strenġ
Middle English string
English string
Every English word from English ham
Today it means
noun One of the great tendons situated in each side of the ham, or space back of the knee, and connected with the muscles of the back of the thigh.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / English ham / hamstring