Where does “creak” come from?

Creak comes from Middle English creken, from Old English cearcian, from Proto-West Germanic krakōn, from Proto-Germanic krakōną, from Proto-Indo-European gerh₂-, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ger-.

creak (English): The sound produced by anything that creaks; a...

Definitions

  1. The sound produced by anything that creaks; a...

Ancestry of “creak”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishcrekento creak
2Old Englishċearcianto chatter, creak, crash
3Old Dutchkrakōnto crack, creak, emit a cry
4Proto-Indo-Europeangerg-to shout; tracery, basket, twist; wicker, bend
5Proto-Indo-Europeanger-to turn, bend, twist, wind; to tie, bind...

Words derived from “creak”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European ger- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European gerg- →Every word from Old Dutch krakōn →