Where does “crying” come from?
Crying comes from Middle English -ing (gerund suffix) attached to Old English crian (to cry out), from Frankish krītan (to cry), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European greyd- (to scrape or grate, by extension to make harsh sounds).
crying (English): That cries; That demands action or attention;...
Definitions
- That cries; That demands action or attention;...
Ancestry of “crying”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | -ing | Used to form gerunds, a type of verbal nouns,... |
| 2 | Old English | -ing | Forming nouns from verbs, indicating action,... |
| 3 | Old English | -tūn | homestead, village, town |
| 4 | Old English | tūn | enclosure, yard; place; dwelling |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | tūn | fence |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | tūną | fence; enclosure |
| 7 | Gaulish | dunum | fort; hill, hillfort |
| 8 | Proto-Celtic | dūnom | stronghold, rampart |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | dʰewh₂- | smoke; mist, haze |