Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “bothersome” come from?

Bothersome derives from English bother plus the English suffix -some, ultimately tracing through Proto-Indo-European tewh₂- and sem-.

bothersome (English): Causing bother or perplexity

Definitions

  1. Causing bother or perplexity

Ancestry of “bothersome”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishsomeA certain number, at least two; An indefinite...
2Middle Englishsomsome
3Old Englishsumsome
4Proto-West Germanic*sum—
5Proto-Germanicsumazsome , a certain; some, certain
6Proto-Indo-Europeansem-together, one

Words derived from “bothersome”

  • bothersomeness
  • bothersomely
  • unbothersome
Every word from Proto-Indo-European sem- →