Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “driven” come from?

Driven comes from Old English drīfan, from Proto-Germanic drībaną, from Proto-Indo-European dʰreybʰ-, ultimately from the root dʰer- meaning to move or support.

driven (English): past participle of drive; Obsessed; passionately...

Definitions

  1. past participle of drive; Obsessed; passionately...

Ancestry of “driven”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishdriveMotivation to do or achieve something; ability...
2English-erA person or thing that does an action indicated...
3Middle English-eragentive suffix; agent noun suffix
4Old French-erAlternative form of -ier, verbal suffix;...
5Latin-āre—
6Proto-Italic-āōForms primarily denominative verbs
7Proto-Indo-European-eh₂yétiCreates iterative/ frequentative/ intensive...
8Proto-Indo-European-yétiCreates intransitive, often deponent,...
9Proto-Indo-Europeanyé-—
10Chichewaiyehe, she

Words derived from “driven”

  • overdriven
  • drivenness
  • undriven
  • nondriven
  • indriven
Every word from Chichewa iye →