Where does “blow” come from?

Blow comes from Middle English blowe, Old English blāw, and Proto-Germanic blēwaz, all deriving from the Proto-Indo-European root bʰel-.

blow (English): To produce an air current; To propel by an air...

Definitions

  1. To produce an air current; To propel by an air...

Ancestry of “blow”, step by step

blow traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Middle English blowe

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishbloweAlternative form of blowen
2Old Englishblōwanto bloom, blossom
3Proto-West Germanicblōanto bloom, to flower
4Proto-Germanicblōanąto bloom, to flower
5Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰleh₃-bloom, flower
6Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰel-to sound; to speak, roar, bark; shiny, white; to...
7Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰōl-—

via Proto-Germanic blēaną

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-Germanicblēanąto blow
2Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰléh₁-to bleat

Words derived from “blow”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰōl- →