Where does “absent-minded” come from?
absent-minded (English) comes from English minded, from English mind, from Middle English minde, from Old English mynd, from Proto-Germanic gamundiz, from Proto-Germanic ga-, from Proto-Indo-European ḱóm, from Proto-Indo-European ḱe — to bend; curve; arch; vault; to bow, bend, arch,...
absent-minded (English): Absent in mind; often preoccupied; forgetful or...
Definitions
- Absent in mind; often preoccupied; forgetful or...
Ancestry of “absent-minded”, step by step
absent-minded traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English minded
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | minded | Having a mind for something or a certain way of... |
| 2 | English | mind | The ability for rational thought; The ability to... |
| 3 | Middle English | minde | — |
| 4 | Old English | mynd | mind |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | gamundiz | remembrance, memory; commemoration, memorial |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | ga- | Indicates association or togetherness; co-;... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱóm | beside, near, by, with |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱe | Deictic particle, here; Post-positional... |
| 9 | Middle English | kyt | — |
| 10 | German | kitt | putty certain kinds of cement used for fixing e.g. window panes |
| 11 | Old High German | kuti | — |
| 12 | Proto-West Germanic | kwidu | gum, resin |
| 13 | Proto-Germanic | kweduz | resin |
| 14 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷet- | resin, gum; to say, speak |
| 15 | Proto-Indo-European | gū- | to bend; curve; arch; vault; to bow, bend, arch,... |
via English absent
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | absent | Being away from a place; withdrawn from a place;... |
| 2 | Middle English | absent | — |
| 3 | Middle French | absent | — |
| 4 | Old French | ausent | — |
| 5 | Latin | absēns | absent, missing, away, away from, distant, gone, gone away |
| 6 | Latin | absum | I am away, I am absent, I am distant |
| 7 | Latin | ab- | from, away, away from; off; at a distance |
| 8 | Latin | āb | from, away from, out of |
| 9 | Proto-Germanic | *ab | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | apó | — |