Etymology

paywall

pay·wall
P3A1Y4W4A1L1L1

Today it means: A system that restricts access to content with a purchase or a paid subscription. Full definition →

English wall ← Middle English wal ← Old English weall
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*peh₂ḱ-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*péh₂ḱs
  3. Proto-Italic*pāks
  4. Latinpāx
  5. Latinpācō
  6. Old Frenchpaiier
  7. Middle Englishpayen
  8. Englishpay
  9. Proto-Indo-European*welH-
  10. Proto-Italic*walso-
  11. Latinvallum
  12. Proto-West Germanic*wall
  13. Old Englishweall
  14. Middle Englishwal
  15. Englishwall
  16. English todaypaywall

From pay + wall, by analogy with firewall.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.