2085: Feminine Origins of 'Kilt' Aug 30, 2020

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 People would probably not be terribly surprised to learn that the word ‘kilt’ comes from the same root as ‘skirt’; they are both from Old Norse and basically look the same. What people might not have guessed is that the root of kilt is a lot more feminine than that, as that root has been traced back to the Proto-IndoEuropean root ‘gelt-’ meaning ‘womb’. Indeed, the English word ‘child’ ultimately comes from that root, as do other child-rearing related words like the Swedish ‘kilta’ (to swathe/swaddle).

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