Where does “maelstrom” come from?
maelstrom (Dutch) comes from Dutch stroom, from Middle Dutch strôom, from Old Dutch strōm, from Proto-West Germanic straum, from Proto-Germanic straumaz, from Proto-Indo-European srowmos, from Proto-Indo-European srew-, from Proto-Indo-European ser- — to flow; to guard; to bind, to tie together.
Ancestry of “maelstrom”, step by step
maelstrom traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Dutch stroom
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dutch | stroom | A flow, current or flush, as of moving water or... |
| 2 | Middle Dutch | strôom | A stream |
| 3 | Old Dutch | strōm | — |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | straum | stream |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | straumaz | stream, current, river |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | srowmos | river |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | srew- | to flow, stream |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | ser- | to flow; to guard; to bind, to tie together |
via Dutch malen
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dutch | malen | to grind; to paint |
| 2 | Middle Dutch | mālen | to grind |
| 3 | Old Dutch | malan | — |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | malan | to grind |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | malaną | to grind |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | melh₂- | to grind, to crush |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | mel- | soft; tender; weak; to deceive; to rub |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | mey- | to strengthen; to bind; to change, exchange |