Where does “encumber” come from?
Encumber comes from Middle English encombren, from Old French encombrer, combining the prefix en- with Old French combre (from Latin cumulus, meaning "heap") and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots meaning "to carry."
encumber (English): to load down something with a burden; to restrict...
Definitions
- to load down something with a burden; to restrict...
Ancestry of “encumber”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | encombren | — |
| 2 | Old French | encombrer | to bother; to irritate; to annoy; to burden |
| 3 | Old French | combre | wooden obstacles on a river; dam; hindrance,... |
| 4 | Medieval Latin | combrus | barricade of felled trees; barricade |
| 5 | Gaulish | komberū | — |
| 6 | Proto-Celtic | kombereti | to bring together |
| 7 | Proto-Celtic | kom- | with, together |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱóm | beside, near, by, with |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱe | Deictic particle, here; Post-positional... |
| 10 | Middle English | kyt | — |
| 11 | German | kitt | putty certain kinds of cement used for fixing e.g. window panes |
| 12 | Old High German | kuti | — |
| 13 | Proto-West Germanic | kwidu | gum, resin |
| 14 | Proto-Germanic | kweduz | resin |
| 15 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷet- | resin, gum; to say, speak |
| 16 | Proto-Indo-European | gū- | to bend; curve; arch; vault; to bow, bend, arch,... |