Where does “fountainous” come from?
fountainous (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.
fountainous (English): Resembling or characteristic of a fountain
Definitions
- Resembling or characteristic of a fountain
Ancestry of “fountainous”, step by step
fountainous 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 fountain
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | fountain | A natural source of water; a spring; An... |
| 2 | Old French | fontaine | fountain |
| 3 | Latin | fontāna | spring, fountain, source |
| 4 | Latin | fontānus | bearing a relation to the spring or source |
| 5 | Latin | fons | a spring, a fountain; fresh water, spring water;... |
| 6 | Latin | fontis | genitive singular of fōns |