Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “belying” come from?

Belying comes from Middle English belyen, from Old English belicgan, combining the prefix be- with bī (from Proto-Indo-European h₁epi) and a root from Proto-Indo-European legʰ-.

belying (English): present participle of belie

Definitions

  1. present participle of belie

Ancestry of “belying”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishbelieTo lie around; encompass; To surround; beleaguer;...
2Middle Englishbelyen—
3Old Englishbelicganto lie by or about, beleaguer, encompass, beset
4Old Englishbe-a productive prefix usually used to form verbs...
5Old Englishhrōpanto shout, proclaim; cry out, scream, howl; to cry...
6Proto-West Germanichrōpanto cry out, to call, to shout
7Proto-Germanichrōpanąto cry out, call, shout
8Proto-Indo-Europeanḱer-to grow, to make grow, to nourish; to plait,...
9Proto-Indo-Europeankr̥-to turn, to bend
10Proto-Indo-Europeanker-army
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ker- →