Where does “firestorm” come from?
Firestorm comes from English fire and Middle English storm, which derive from Old English fȳr and Proto-Germanic sturmaz, ultimately tracing to Proto-Indo-European (s)twer- and péh₂wr̥.
firestorm (English): A fire whose intensity is greatly increased by...
Definitions
- A fire whose intensity is greatly increased by...
Ancestry of “firestorm”, step by step
firestorm traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English fire
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | fire | A chemical reaction involving the bonding of... |
| 2 | Middle English | fier | Alternative form of figer |
| 3 | Old English | fȳr | fire |
| 4 | Old English | feor | Alternative form of feorr; far |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | ferrai | far, distant |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | per-nóy | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |
via English storm
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | storm | Any disturbed state of the atmosphere, especially... |
| 2 | Middle English | storm | A storm; an instance of intense wind and... |
| 3 | Old English | storm | storm |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | *sturm | storm |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | sturmaz | storm |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)twer- | to rotate, swirl, twirl, move around; to turn... |