Where does “cringing” come from?
Cringing comes from Middle English crinchen, from Old English crenċan, from Proto-Germanic krangijaną, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ger- with the suffix -yeti.
cringing (English): present participle of cringe; Act of one who...
Definitions
- present participle of cringe; Act of one who...
Ancestry of “cringing”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | cringe | A posture or gesture of shrinking or recoiling; A... |
| 2 | Middle English | crengen | to bend haughtily, condescend |
| 3 | Old English | crengan | to cause to fall, turn |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | *krangijan | — |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | krangijaną | to make turn, fall |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | kringaną | to turn, fall, yield |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | ger- | to turn, bend, twist, wind; to tie, bind... |
Words derived from “cringing”