Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “earwitness” come from?

earwitness (English) comes from English witness, from Middle English witnesse, from Old English witnes, from Old English -nes, from Proto-West Germanic -nassī, from Proto-Germanic -inassuz, from Proto-West Germanic -ī, from Proto-Germanic -į̄ — Creates collective nouns, which refer to groups...

earwitness (English): A witness who gives evidence of what he or she...

Definitions

  1. A witness who gives evidence of what he or she...

Ancestry of “earwitness”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishwitnessAttestation of a fact or event; testimony; One...
2Middle Englishwitnesse—
3Old Englishwitneswitness
4Old English-nesUsed to form abstract nouns, usually from...
5Proto-West Germanic-nassīUsed to form abstract nouns, usually from...
6Proto-Germanic-inassuz-ness
7Proto-West Germanic-ī-ness, -th
8Proto-Germanic-į̄-th
9Proto-Indo-European-íh₂—
10Proto-Indo-European-h₂Creates collective nouns, which refer to groups...
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -h₂ →