Etymology Explorer › Dutch

Where does “slinken” come from?

slinken (Dutch) comes from Middle Dutch slinken, from Old Dutch slinkan, from Proto-Germanic slinkaną, from Proto-Indo-European sleng-, from Proto-Indo-European sel-, from Proto-Indo-European ser- — to flow; to guard; to bind, to tie together.

slinken (Dutch): to shrink, to lessen, to decrease

Definitions

  1. to shrink, to lessen, to decrease

Ancestry of “slinken”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Dutchslinkento cave, to collapse inwards
2Old Dutchslinkan—
3Proto-GermanicslinkanąTo creep; crawl; slink
4Proto-Indo-Europeansleng-—
5Proto-Indo-Europeansel-dwelling; piece of wood; beam, post, balk, board,...
6Proto-Indo-Europeanser-to flow; to guard; to bind, to tie together
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ser- →