Where does “extortionous” come from?
extortionous (English) comes from English ous, from English ou, from Afrikaans ou, from Dutch oud, from Middle Dutch out, from Old Dutch ald, from Proto-West Germanic ald, from Proto-Germanic aldaz — to grow, nourish.
extortionous (English): Committing extortion
Definitions
- Committing extortion
Ancestry of “extortionous”, step by step
extortionous traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English ous
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | ous | plural of ou |
| 2 | English | ou | A probably extinct species of Hawaiian... |
| 3 | Afrikaans | ou | An old fellow, guy, bloke; attributive form of... |
| 4 | Dutch | oud | old |
| 5 | Middle Dutch | out | old |
| 6 | Old Dutch | ald | — |
| 7 | Proto-West Germanic | ald | old |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | aldaz | old, grown up |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂eltós | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂él- | to grow, nourish |
via English extortion
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | extortion | The practice of extorting money or other property... |
| 2 | Middle English | extorcion | Extortion; being threatening for the purpose of... |
| 3 | Late Latin | extortio | — |
| 4 | Latin | extorqueo | I extort; I tear away, twist away, wrench out |
| 5 | Latin | torqueō | to spin, whirl, twirl, turn, cause to revolve |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | terkʷ- | to turn, spin |