English
lynchet
Lynchet comes from Old English hlinc ‘a hill’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *kleng- ‘to bend, turn, wind, twist’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kleng-‘to bend, turn, wind, twist’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hlinkazreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hlinkreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150hlinc‘a hill’
- Englishearliest quotation 1891lynchet
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kleng-‘to bend, turn, wind, twist’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hlinkazreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hlinkreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150hlinc‘a hill’
- Englishearliest quotation 1891lynchet
Earliest quotation: 1891, Thomas Hardy, Penguin Classics: “A stretch of a hundred odd acres, in one…”
Formed from lynch ‘variant of linch’ + -et
The story
Apparently lynch (‘variant of linch’) + -et, the first element derived from Old English hlinc (‘a hill’).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *kleng- ‘to bend, turn, wind, twist’
through Proto-West Germanic *hlink
Today it means
noun A bank of earth that slowly builds up on the lower slope of a ploughed field; a feature of ancient field systems.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *kleng- / lynchet