Where does “declining” come from?
Declining comes from Middle English declinen, from Old French decliner, from Latin declīnāre, from Latin de- meaning "away" combined with Latin clīnāre meaning "to lean or bend."
declining (English): Present participle and gerund of decline; decline
Definitions
- Present participle and gerund of decline; decline
Ancestry of “declining”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | decline | Downward movement, fall; A sloping downward, e.g.... |
| 2 | Old French | decliner | — |
| 3 | Latin | dēclīnō | to bend, deviate, turn aside/away, deflect |
| 4 | Latin | dē- | of; from |
| 5 | Latin | dē | of; concerning; about |
| 6 | Latin | post | behind; after, since, besides, except; behind,... |
| 7 | Latin | poste | ablative singular of postis |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | posti | behind, after |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | pósti | after |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | pós | afterwards, post; by, at |