Etymograph

English

leaky

Leaky comes from Old English hlec ‘having cracks or rents’, from Proto-Germanic *lekaz ‘leaking’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *leg- ‘to leak’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leg-‘to leak’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*lekaną‘to leak’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*lekaz‘leaking’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*lekreconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150hlec‘having cracks or rents’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500leke
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1983leaky

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leg-‘to leak’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*lekaną‘to leak’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*lekaz‘leaking’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*lekreconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150hlec‘having cracks or rents’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500leke
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1983leaky

Earliest quotation: 1983, Michael Stephenson, Roger Hearn: “Nuclear reactors in Russian submarines are said to be…”

Formed from -y

Every English word from Proto-Indo-European *leg-

Today it means

adj Having leaks; not fully sealed.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *leg- / leaky

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