Etymology

deadlock

dead·lock
D2E1A1D2L1O1C3K5

Today it means: A standstill resulting from the opposition of two evenly matched forces; a stalemate or impasse. Full definition →

English lock ← Middle English lok ← Old English loc
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The story

  1. Englishdead
  2. Proto-Indo-European*lewg-
  3. Proto-Germanic*luką
  4. Proto-West Germanic*lok
  5. Old Englishloc
  6. Middle Englishlok
  7. Englishlock
  8. English todaydeadlock

From dead + lock.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.