Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “dreadlessly” come from?

dreadlessly (English) comes from English dreadless, from Middle English dredles, from Middle English dred, from Middle English dreden, from Old English drǣdan, from Old English ondrǣdan, from Proto-West Germanic andarādan, from Proto-West Germanic anda- — on, onto.

dreadlessly (English): Without dread; fearlessly

Definitions

  1. Without dread; fearlessly

Ancestry of “dreadlessly”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishdreadlessFeeling no dread or fear; unafraid; Exempt from...
2Middle Englishdredles—
3Middle Englishdred—
4Middle Englishdreden—
5Old Englishdrǣdanto fear, dread
6Old Englishondrǣdanto fear, dread
7Proto-West Germanicandarādanto be afraid, fear; to be in awe
8Proto-West Germanicanda-against, opposing; in return, back; facing,...
9Proto-Germanicanda-against, opposing; un-, de-
10Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂éntiopposite; near; in front
11Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂éntsforehead; front
12Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂ent-face; forehead; front
13Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂en-on, onto
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂en- →