Where does “dwindle” come from?

Dwindle comes from Middle English dwinen, from Proto-Germanic dwīnaną, from Proto-Indo-European dgʷhey- and dʰew-, both meaning to waste away or diminish.

dwindle (English): To decrease, shrink, diminish, reduce in size or...

Definitions

  1. To decrease, shrink, diminish, reduce in size or...

Ancestry of “dwindle”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishdwineTo wither, decline, pine away
2Middle EnglishdwynenTo dwindle; to become diminished
3Old Englishdwīnanto waste away
4Proto-Germanicdwīnanąto dwindle, to disappear
5Proto-Indo-Europeandgʷhey-to disappear, die

Words derived from “dwindle”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European dgʷhey- →Every word from Proto-Germanic dwīnaną →Every word from Old English dwīnan →