Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “curdle” come from?

Curdle comes from Middle English curdlen, from Old English *crudle meaning to congeal or thicken into curds.

curdle (English): To form curds so that it no longer flows...

Definitions

  1. To form curds so that it no longer flows...

Ancestry of “curdle”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1English-leA frequentative suffix of verbs, indicating...
2Middle English-el—
3Old French-elSuffix that usually denotes a masculine noun
4Latin-ellusAlternative form of -ulus; "forming masculine...
5Latin-ulusUsed to form a diminutive of a noun, indicating...
6Proto-Italic-olos—
7Proto-Italic-elos—
8Proto-Indo-European-e-lós—
9Proto-Indo-European-lósForms agent nouns from verbal roots

Words derived from “curdle”

  • curdling
  • curdler
  • decurdling
  • curdleth
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -lós →