cuttlebone

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European · inherited from*bʰeyh₂-“to hit, strike; to cut, hew”
2. Old English · inherited frombān“bone”
3. Proto-Indo-European · inherited from*gew-“to bend, to curve; an arch; a vault”
4. Old English · inherited fromcudele“cuttlefish”
5. Middle English · inherited fromcotilbone
6. English todaycuttlebone

From Middle English cotilbone [and other forms], from cotil, cutil, codel (“cuttlefish; cuttlebone”) (from Old English cudele (“cuttlefish”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gew- (“to bend, to curve; an arch; a vault”)) + bon (“bone”) (from Old English bān (“bone”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyh₂- (“to hit, strike; to cut, hew”)). The English word is analysable as cuttle (“cuttlefish”) + bone.

Words from the same roots