Where does “drifting” come from?

Drifting derives from English drift, from Middle English drift, from Old English drift, from Proto-Germanic driftiz, from Proto-Indo-European dʰreybʰ-, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European dʰer-.

drifting (English): Moving aimlessly or at the mercy of external...

Definitions

  1. Moving aimlessly or at the mercy of external...

Ancestry of “drifting”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishdriftMovement; that which moves or is moved; The act...
2Middle Englishdrift—
3Old Englishdriftan act of driving (cattle, herds, etc.); movement
4Proto-Germanicdriftizdriving
5Proto-Indo-Europeandʰreybʰ-to drive, push
6Proto-Indo-Europeandʰer-to support; to hold

Words derived from “drifting”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European dʰer- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European dʰreybʰ- →Every word from Proto-Germanic driftiz →