Where does “Un-” come from?
Un- (English) comes from English still, from Old English stillan, from Proto-West Germanic stillijan, from Proto-West Germanic -jan, from Proto-Germanic -janą, from Proto-Indo-European -yéti, from Proto-Indo-European yé-, from Chichewa iye — he, she.
Un- (English): not
Definitions
- not
Ancestry of “Un-”, step by step
Un- traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English still
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | still | Not moving; calm; Not effervescing; not... |
| 2 | Old English | stillan | become calm, abate, subside; calm, pacify,... |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | stillijan | to make still, quiet |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | -jan | Creates denominative verbs from nouns; Creates... |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | -janą | Derives denominatives from nouns and factitives... |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -yéti | Creates intransitive, often deponent,... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | yé- | — |
| 8 | Chichewa | iye | he, she |