Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “fortifying” come from?

Fortifying comes from Middle English fortifying, from Latin fortifico meaning to make strong, derived from Latin fortis meaning strong and facio meaning to make, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European bʰerǵʰ- and bʰer-.

fortifying (English): present participle of fortify; The process by...

Definitions

  1. present participle of fortify; The process by...

Ancestry of “fortifying”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1English-ingUsed to form gerunds, a type of verbal nouns,...
2Old English-ingForming nouns from verbs, indicating action,...
3Old English-tūn—
4Old Englishtūnenclosure, yard; place; dwelling
5Proto-West Germanictūnfence
6Proto-Germanictūnąfence; enclosure
7Gaulishdunumfort; hill, hillfort
8Proto-Celticdūnomstronghold, rampart
9Proto-Indo-Europeandʰewh₂-smoke; mist, haze

Words derived from “fortifying”

  • fortifyingly
Every word from Proto-Indo-European dʰewh₂- →