Where does “ontfermen” come from?
ontfermen (Dutch) comes from Middle Dutch entfarmen, from Old Dutch intfarmon, from German armēn, from Proto-Germanic armāną, from Proto-Germanic -āną, from Proto-Germanic -ajaną, from Proto-Indo-European -oyéti, from Proto-Indo-European -yéti — he, she.
ontfermen (Dutch): to take pity
Ancestry of “ontfermen”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle Dutch | entfarmen | — |
| 2 | Old Dutch | intfarmon | — |
| 3 | German | armēn | — |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | armāną | to pity |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | -āną | Creates factitive verbs from adjectives, later... |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | -ajaną | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -oyéti | Creates factitive verbs from adjectives |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -yéti | Creates intransitive, often deponent,... |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | yé- | — |
| 10 | Chichewa | iye | he, she |