Where does “behind the scenes” come from?
behind the scenes (English) comes from English behind, from Middle English behinde, from Old English behindan, from Old English be-, from Old English hrōpan, from Proto-West Germanic hrōpan, from Proto-Germanic hrōpaną, from Proto-Indo-European ḱer- — army.
behind the scenes (English): Being or working out in secret or out of public...
Definitions
- Being or working out in secret or out of public...
Ancestry of “behind the scenes”, step by step
behind the scenes traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via English behind
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | behind | At the back of; positioned with something else in... |
| 2 | Middle English | behinde | — |
| 3 | Old English | behindan | behind |
| 4 | Old English | be- | a productive prefix usually used to form verbs... |
| 5 | Old English | hrōpan | to shout, proclaim; cry out, scream, howl; to cry... |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | hrōpan | to cry out, to call, to shout |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | hrōpaną | to cry out, call, shout |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱer- | to grow, to make grow, to nourish; to plait,... |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | kr̥- | to turn, to bend |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | ker- | army |
via English the
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | the | Definite grammatical article that implies... |
| 2 | Middle English | the | Alternative form of þe; Alternative form of þei;... |
| 3 | Old English | þē | you, thee; the, that |
| 4 | Old English | sē | he, that; that, that one, he |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | siz | dative/instrumental of *se- |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | *sek | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | swe- | self |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | swé | self |
via English scenes
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | scenes | plural of scene |