Where does “awesome” come from?

Awesome derives from English awe and English some, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European tewh₂-, Old English eall, and Proto-Indo-European sem- and al-, with roots in Proto-Indo-European h₂el-.

awesome (English): Causing awe or terror; inspiring wonder or...

Definitions

  1. Causing awe or terror; inspiring wonder or...

Ancestry of “awesome”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1English-someCharacterized by some specific condition or...
2Middle English-somsome; having a specific quality
3Old Englishsumsome
4Proto-West Germanic*sumsome
5Proto-Germanicsumazsome (one), a certain (one)
6Proto-Indo-Europeansem-together, one

Words derived from “awesome

Every word from Proto-Indo-European sem-