Etymology

counterbore

C3O1U1N1T1E1R1B3O1R1E1

Today it means: A cylindrical recess, typically machined at the mouth of a hole to admit a screw (such as a cap screw) so that the screw sits flush with a surface. Full definition →

English bore ← Middle English boren ← Old English borian
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ḱe?
  2. Proto-Indo-European*ḱóm
  3. Proto-Italic*kom
  4. Proto-Italic*kom-
  5. Proto-Italic*komteros
  6. Proto-Italic*komterād
  7. Latincontrā
  8. Old Frenchcontre-
  9. Anglo-Normancountre-
  10. Middle Englishcounter-
  11. Englishcounter-
  12. Proto-Indo-European*bʰerH-
  13. Proto-Germanic*burōną
  14. Proto-West Germanic*borōn
  15. Old Englishborian
  16. Middle Englishboren
  17. Englishbore
  18. English todaycounterbore

From counter- (“against”) + bore (“hole”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.