Where does “clawlessness” come from?
clawlessness (English) comes from English clawless, from English claw, from Middle English clawe, from Old English clawu, from Proto-West Germanic *klawu, from Proto-Germanic klawō, from Proto-Germanic klawjaną, from Proto-Indo-European glew- — to swallow; swallow.
clawlessness (English): Absence of claws
Definitions
- Absence of claws
Ancestry of “clawlessness”, step by step
clawlessness traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English clawless
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | clawless | Having no claws |
| 2 | English | claw | A curved, pointed horny nail on each digit of the... |
| 3 | Middle English | clawe | A claw; a horny nail on the feet of certain... |
| 4 | Old English | clawu | claw |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | *klawu | — |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | klawō | claw |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | klawjaną | to claw or scratch |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | glew- | Alternative form of *gley-; to amass,... |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵel- | to swallow; swallow |
via English Ness
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Ness | An Ulster princess and the mother of Conchobar mac Nessa and Findchoem in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. Daughter of Eochaid Sálbuide. Also the mother of Cormac Cond Longas by incest with Conchobar mac Nessa |
| 2 | Middle English | nesse | — |
| 3 | Old English | næs | not, not at all; not; first/third-person singular... |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | nasją | foothill; headland; cape |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | néh₂s | nose |