Etymology

camwheel

C3A1M3W4H4E1E1L1

Today it means: A wheel with one or more projections (cams) or depressions upon its periphery or upon its face, one which is set or shaped irregularly, so that its revolutions impart a varied, reciprocating, or intermittent motion. Full definition →

English wheel ← Middle English whel ← Old English hwēol
Ask AI about its historyChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ǵembʰ-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*ǵómbʰos
  3. Proto-Germanic*kambaz
  4. Proto-West Germanicᚲᚨᛒᚨ
  5. Proto-West Germanic*kamb
  6. Old Dutch*kamb
  7. Middle Dutchkamp
  8. Dutchkam
  9. Englishcam
  10. Proto-Indo-European*kʷelh₁-redup.
  11. Proto-Indo-European*kʷekʷléh₂
  12. Proto-Germanic*hweulō
  13. Old Englishhwēol
  14. Middle Englishwhel
  15. Englishwheel
  16. English todaycamwheel

From cam + wheel.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.