Etymology

motorhead

M3O1T1O1R1H4E1A1D2

Today it means: A car, truck, or motorcycle enthusiast. Full definition →

English head ← Middle English heed ← Old English hēafod
Ask AI about its historyChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*m(y)ewh₁-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*m(y)owh₁éyeti
  3. Proto-Italic*moweō
  4. Latinmoveō
  5. Latinmōtor
  6. Middle Englishmotour
  7. Englishmotor
  8. Proto-Indo-European*kap-?
  9. Proto-Indo-European*kap-
  10. Proto-Indo-European*káput
  11. Proto-Germanic*haubudą
  12. Old Englishhēafod
  13. Middle Englishheed
  14. Englishhead
  15. English todaymotorhead

From motor + -head.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.