Etymology

flywheel

F4L1Y4W4H4E1E1L1

Today it means: A rotating mass used to maintain the speed of a machine within certain limits while the machine receives or releases energy at a varying rate, or as a form of energy storage. Full definition →

English wheel ← Middle English whel ← Old English hwēol
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*plew-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*plewk-
  3. Proto-Indo-European*pléwketi
  4. Proto-Germanic*fleuganą
  5. Proto-West Germanic*fleugan
  6. Old Englishflēogan
  7. Middle Englishflien
  8. Englishfly
  9. Proto-Indo-European*kʷelh₁-redup.
  10. Proto-Indo-European*kʷekʷléh₂
  11. Proto-Germanic*hweulō
  12. Old Englishhwēol
  13. Middle Englishwhel
  14. Englishwheel
  15. English todayflywheel

From fly + wheel.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.