Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “dwell” come from?

Dwell comes from Middle English dwellen, from Old English dwellan, from Proto-Germanic dwaljaną, from Proto-Indo-European dʰwelH-, ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root dʰwel-.

dwell (English): A period of time in which a system or component...

Definitions

  1. A period of time in which a system or component...

Ancestry of “dwell”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishdwellento dwell; to reside; to live
2Old Englishdwellanto mislead, deceive; to hinder; to err, go astray
3Proto-West Germanic*dwalljan—
4Proto-Germanicdwaljanąto be confused, perplex; to hold up, delay
5Proto-Germanic-janąDerives denominatives from nouns and factitives...
6Proto-Indo-European-yétiCreates intransitive, often deponent,...
7Proto-Indo-Europeanyé-—
8Chichewaiyehe, she

Words derived from “dwell”

  • dweller
  • bedwell
  • dwellest
  • indwell
  • indweller
  • slumdweller
  • outdweller
  • bydweller
  • outdwell
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