Where does “fleeting” come from?
Fleeting comes from English flee, from Middle English flete and flet, tracing through Proto-Indo-European plewd-, plew-, plāk-, pelh₂-, to pel-, meaning to move or flow.
fleeting (English): Passing quickly; of short duration; present...
Definitions
- Passing quickly; of short duration; present...
Ancestry of “fleeting”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | fleten | To go or change position; to experience movement;... |
| 2 | Old English | flēotan | float; to float, swim |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | fleutan | to float; to stream |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | fleutaną | to float, stream |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | plewd- | to fly, flow, run |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | plew- | to fly, flow, run |
Words derived from “fleeting”