Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “building” come from?

Building derives from the Old English gerund suffix -ing attached to the verb build, which comes from Proto-Indo-European bʰew- meaning to grow or swell.

building (English): The act or process by which something is built;...

Definitions

  1. The act or process by which something is built;...

Ancestry of “building”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1English-ingUsed to form gerunds, a type of verbal nouns,...
2Old English-ingForming nouns from verbs, indicating action,...
3Old English-tūn—
4Old Englishtūnenclosure, yard; place; dwelling
5Proto-West Germanictūnfence
6Proto-Germanictūnąfence; enclosure
7Gaulishdunumfort; hill, hillfort
8Proto-Celticdūnomstronghold, rampart
9Proto-Indo-Europeandʰewh₂-smoke; mist, haze

Words derived from “building”

  • buildings
  • shipbuilding
  • peacebuilding
  • bodybuilding
  • outbuilding
  • teambuilding
  • housebuilding
  • homebuilding
  • boatbuilding
  • roadbuilding
  • bridgebuilding
  • forebuilding
  • abuilding
  • nestbuilding
  • modelbuilding
  • castlebuilding
  • worldbuilding
  • coachbuilding
  • moundbuilding
  • multibuilding
  • interbuilding
  • buildingwide
  • wordbuilding
  • newbuilding
Every word from Proto-Indo-European dʰewh₂- →