Where does “adrift” come from?
Adrift comes from English drift with the prefix English a (from Latin ad-, meaning "to") and Latin ad (from Proto-Indo-European h₂epo, meaning "away" or "off").
adrift (English): Floating at random; Absent from his watch; Behind...
Definitions
- Floating at random; Absent from his watch; Behind...
Ancestry of “adrift”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | ā- | — |
| 2 | Old English | ġe- | used as an intensifier for verbs, indicating completeness or perfection |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | ga- | used as an intensifier for verbs, indicating... |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | ga- | Indicates association or togetherness; co-;... |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱóm | beside, near, by, with |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱe | Deictic particle, here; Post-positional... |
| 7 | Middle English | kyt | — |
| 8 | German | kitt | putty certain kinds of cement used for fixing e.g. window panes |
| 9 | Old High German | kuti | — |
| 10 | Proto-West Germanic | kwidu | gum, resin |
| 11 | Proto-Germanic | kweduz | resin |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷet- | resin, gum; to say, speak |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | gū- | to bend; curve; arch; vault; to bow, bend, arch,... |