English
spillback
From spill + back.
Proto-Indo-European *(s)pel- ‘to sunder, split, rend, tear’
Proto-Germanic *spilþijaną ‘to spoil, kill, murder’
Proto-West Germanic *spilþijan ‘to spoil, ruin’
Old English spillan ‘to kill, destroy, waste’
Middle English spillen ‘to demolish, liquidate, or ruin’
English spill
Proto-Germanic *baką ‘back’
Proto-West Germanic *bak
Old English bæc
Middle English bak ‘the back’
English back
Today it means
noun The blockage of an intersection by traffic as a result of the traffic lights changing and preventing progress.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / spillback