Etymology

wheellock

W4H4E1E1L1L1O1C3K5

Today it means: An early type of firearm, using a spring-driven wheel against a flint to make sparks in the firing pan. Full definition →

English lock ← Middle English lok ← Old English loc
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*kʷelh₁-redup.
  2. Proto-Indo-European*kʷekʷléh₂
  3. Proto-Germanic*hweulō
  4. Old Englishhwēol
  5. Middle Englishwhel
  6. Englishwheel
  7. Proto-Indo-European*lewg-
  8. Proto-Germanic*luką
  9. Proto-West Germanic*lok
  10. Old Englishloc
  11. Middle Englishlok
  12. Englishlock
  13. English todaywheellock

From wheel + lock.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.