Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “earldom” come from?

Earldom derives from Middle English erldom, from Old English eorldōm, a compound of eorl (nobleman) and -dōm (domain or office).

earldom (English): The rank of being an earl; The territory...

Definitions

  1. The rank of being an earl; The territory...

Ancestry of “earldom”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishDOMInitialism of date of marriage; Initialism of...
2EnglishdominanceThe state of being dominant; of prime importance;...
3English-anceAdded to an adjective or verb to form a noun...
4Middle English-aunce—
5Old French-ance-ance
6Latin-iaUsed to form a feminine abstract noun, usually...
7Latin-iusforming adjectives from nouns; nominative neuter...
8Proto-Italic-jōsForms comparative adjectives
9Proto-Indo-European-yósCreates adjectives from noun or verb stems
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -yós →