Etymograph

English

linkspan

From link + span.

A compound of link + span

Middle English linke

English link

Proto-Indo-European *(s)pend- ‘to stretch’

Proto-Germanic *spannō ‘span, handbreadth’

Old English spann

Middle English spanne ‘a span’

English span

Today it means

noun A kind of drawbridge used mainly to move vehicles on and off a ro-ro vessel or ferry.

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

Etymograph / linkspan