Where does “childlike” come from?
Childlike derives from English child and the Old English adjectival suffix -līċ, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots meaning to geld or constrain.
childlike (English): Innocent and trustful; credulous; artless; Of,...
Definitions
- Innocent and trustful; credulous; artless; Of,...
Ancestry of “childlike”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Child | Alternative letter-case form of child "often used... |
| 2 | Middle English | childen | To deliver a child; to beget or procreate; To... |
| 3 | Middle English | -en | Denotes the past participle form when attached to... |
| 4 | Old English | -en | mæġþ + API → mæġden; cocc + API → cycen, cicen;... |
| 5 | Old Norse | -inn | Used to create adjectives from nouns, meaning... |
| 6 | Proto-Norse | -īna- | — |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | -īnaz | -en |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -iHnos | Creates adjectives of materials |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -no- | adjectival suffix |