causeway
KAWZ-way · noun
Origin
From Middle English cawcewey, combining cauce (a route or highway, from Anglo-Norman and Old French caucee/cauchie) with way. The first part traces back to Vulgar Latin *calciāta, itself linked either to Latin calx, calcis (limestone) or to calciō (to stamp with the heels), from calx (heel).
This is Curio: one word's origin story, every morning. No feed, no backlog.
One short email each morning. Free; stop anytime. See a sample →
Journey
The word joined a term for a paved route with 'way,' fusing two ideas of passage into one — a road built up to cross ground that couldn't otherwise be walked.
Related words
It shares its French descendant with chaussée, the modern French word for a paved road or highway, both coming from the same Old French root cauchie.