Where does “falteringly” come from?
Falteringly derives from Middle English faltering plus the adverbial suffix -ly, from Old English -līċ meaning "like" or "having the form of," from Proto-Germanic -līkaz, itself from Proto-Germanic galīkaz and ultimately Proto-Indo-European līg- and ḱóm.
falteringly (English): In a faltering manner; hesitantly, making pauses
Definitions
- In a faltering manner; hesitantly, making pauses
Ancestry of “falteringly”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | faltering | hesitant, halting; present participle of falter;... |
| 2 | English | -ing | Used to form gerunds, a type of verbal nouns,... |
| 3 | Old English | -ing | Forming nouns from verbs, indicating action,... |
| 4 | Old English | -tūn | — |
| 5 | Old English | tūn | enclosure, yard; place; dwelling |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | tūn | fence |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | tūną | fence; enclosure |
| 8 | Gaulish | dunum | fort; hill, hillfort |
| 9 | Proto-Celtic | dūnom | stronghold, rampart |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | dʰewh₂- | smoke; mist, haze |