Etymology

linchpin

L1I1N1C3H4P3I1N1

Today it means: A pin inserted through holes at the end of an axle or shaft, so as to secure a wheel or shaft-mounted device. Full definition →

Middle English lynspin ← Old English lynis ← Proto-West Germanic *lunis
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The story

  1. Proto-Germanic · derived from*lunaz
  2. Proto-West Germanic · derived from*lunis
  3. Old English · derived fromlynis“lynchpin”
  4. Middle English · inherited fromlynspin
  5. English todaylinchpin

From Middle English lynspin, compound of lins (“axletree”) and pin, from Old English lynis (“lynchpin”), from Proto-West Germanic *lunis, from Proto-Germanic *lunaz – compare German Lünse and Dutch luns – from Proto-Indo-European. Possible further cognates are Welsh olwyn (“wheel”), Old Armenian ողն (ołn, “back; spine, backbone”) and Sanskrit आणि (āṇí, “lynchpin”). Figurative use attested from the mid-20th century.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.