Etymology

watertight

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Today it means: So tightly made that water cannot enter or escape. Full definition →

English tight ← Middle English water ← Old English wæter
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*wed-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*wódr̥
  3. Proto-Germanic*watōr
  4. Proto-West Germanic*watar
  5. Old Englishwæter
  6. Middle Englishwater
  7. Englishwater
  8. Englishtight
  9. English todaywatertight

From water + tight. Compare Scots wattirticht (“watertight”), West Frisian wetterticht (“waterproof”), Dutch waterdicht (“waterproof, watertight”), German wasserdicht (“watertight, waterproof”), Danish vandtæt (“watertight”), Swedish vattentät (“watertight, waterproof”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.