Etymology

underpin

U1N1D2E1R1P3I1N1

Today it means: To support from below with props or masonry. Full definition →

English pin ← Middle English pinne ← Old English pinn
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₁én
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₁entér
  3. Proto-Indo-European*h₂én
  4. Proto-Indo-European*dʰeh₁-?
  5. Proto-Indo-European*(H)n̥dʰí
  6. Proto-Indo-European*(H)n̥dʰér
  7. Proto-Germanic*under
  8. Proto-West Germanic*undar
  9. Old Englishunder-
  10. Middle Englishunder-
  11. Englishunder-
  12. Proto-Germanic*pinnaz
  13. Proto-West Germanic*pinn
  14. Old Englishpinn
  15. Middle Englishpinne
  16. Englishpin
  17. English todayunderpin

From under- + pin.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.