Where does “frilly” come from?

Frilly derives from English frill plus the Middle English suffix -y, itself from Middle French -ie, Latin -ia, Latin -ivus, and ultimately Proto-Indo-European -kos, a productive suffix for forming adjectives.

frilly (English): Having frills; frilled; Over-elaborate or showy...

Definitions

  1. Having frills; frilled; Over-elaborate or showy...

Ancestry of “frilly”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1English-yAdded to nouns and adjectives to form adjectives...
2Middle English-yDesignates an adjective, in many cases formed by...
3Old English-iġ-y, -ic
4Proto-West Germanic-gForms adjectives from nouns and verbs with a...
5Proto-Germanic-gaz-y
6Proto-Indo-European-ḱos-y, -ic

Words derived from “frilly”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European -ḱos →Every word from English -y →Every word from Old English -iġ →