English
throttle
Throttle comes from Middle English throte ‘throat’, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *þrutǭ.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*þrutǭreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*þrotāreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150þrote‘throat’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500throte‘throat’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500*throtelreconstructeddiminutive of throte
- Englishearliest quotation 1817throttle
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*þrutǭreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*þrotāreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150þrote‘throat’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500throte‘throat’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500*throtelreconstructeddiminutive of throte
- Englishearliest quotation 1817throttle
Earliest quotation: 1817, Walter Scott, The Quest of Sultaun Solimaun”: “Then up got Peg, and round the house gan…”
Formed from throat + -le
Proto-Indo-European *trud- ‘to swell, become stiff’
Proto-Germanic *þrutō
Proto-West Germanic *þrotu
Old English þrote
Middle English throte
English throat
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ster- ‘to be strong, ready, stiff’
still, start, street, strength, stronger, strongly, straw, strongest, stare, stern, stereo, starve, torpedo, cholesterol, sterile, strenuous, sterility, 17 more
through Middle English throte ‘throat’
Another origin of throttle
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500throtlen‘to choke, strangle, suffocate’
- Englishtodaythrottle
Today it means
noun A valve that regulates the supply of fuel-air mixture to an internal combustion engine and thus controls its speed; a similar valve that controls the air supply to an engine.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *þrutǭ / throttle