Etymology

footwork

F4O1O1T1W4O1R1K5

Today it means: Any movement of the feet, especially intricate or complex movement, as in sports or dancing. Full definition →

English work ← Middle English worchen ← Old English wyrċan
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ped-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*pṓds
  3. Proto-Germanic*fōts
  4. Proto-West Germanic*fōt
  5. Old Englishfōt
  6. Middle Englishfot
  7. Englishfoot
  8. Proto-Indo-European*werǵ-
  9. Proto-Indo-European*wr̥ǵyéti
  10. Proto-Germanic*wurkijaną
  11. Proto-West Germanic*wurkijan
  12. Proto-Indo-European*werǵ-
  13. Proto-Indo-European*wérǵom
  14. Proto-Germanic*werką
  15. Proto-Germanic*wirkijaną
  16. Proto-West Germanic*wirkijan
  17. Old Englishwyrċan
  18. Middle Englishworchen
  19. Englishwork
  20. English todayfootwork

From foot + work.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.