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Where does the word "foot" come from? It comes from Proto-Germanic fōts, passing through Old English before entering English (1500s).
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Where does the word "foot" come from? It comes from Proto-Germanic fōts, passing through Old English before entering English (1500s).
Foot’s story begins in Proto-Germanic: fōts meant “foot.” Cognate with Latin 'pēs, pedis', as in 'pedal', by Grimm's law. By 700s-1000s, the word had taken hold in Old English as fōt. Its plural 'fēt' came from a vowel change, giving 'feet'. It reached English by 1500s as foot. As a length it was later fixed at twelve inches. Today, foot means the lower part of the leg that one stands on.
- Stage 1 · Proto-Germanic · ancient fōts "foot", cognate with Latin 'pēs, pedis', as in 'pedal', by Grimm's law.
- Stage 2 · Old English · 700s-1000s fōt "foot", its plural 'fēt' came from a vowel change, giving 'feet'.
- Stage 3 · English · 1500s foot "foot", as a length it was later fixed at twelve inches.