where does the term dead end come from
Dead end (street) The expression cul-de-sac comes from French, where it originally meant "bottom of the sack".[44] It was first used in English in anatomy (since 1738). It was used for dead-end streets since 1800 in English (since the 14th century in French).[45] The often heard erroneous folk etymology "arse/ass [buttocks] of the sack" is based on the modern meaning of cul in French, Catalan, and Occitan, but cul doesn't have that meaning in cul-de-sac, which is still used to refer to dead ends in modern French although the terms impasse and voie sans issue are more common in modern French.