Where does “above ground” come from?
above ground (English) comes from English above, from Middle English aboven, from Old English ābufan, from Old English bufan, from Proto-West Germanic *biobanā, from Proto-West Germanic *obanā, from Proto-Germanic ubanē, from Proto-Germanic upp.
Ancestry of “above ground”, step by step
above ground traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English above
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | above | Physically over; on top of; worn on top of, said... |
| 2 | Middle English | aboven | above |
| 3 | Old English | ābufan | above |
| 4 | Old English | bufan | above |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | *biobanā | — |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | *obanā | from above |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | ubanē | from above |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | upp | up, upwards |
| 9 | Proto-Germanic | ub | under |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | upó | under, below |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | h₃ewp- | — |
via English ground
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | ground | The surface of the Earth, as opposed to the sky... |
| 2 | Middle English | ground | ground; Earth |
| 3 | Old English | grund | ground; bottom, foundation; abyss, depths |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | grunduz | ground, foundation |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | gʰrem- | to be angry; to sound, bellow, growl, roar, be... |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | gʰer- | to rub; to stroke; to grind |