Where does “gainseeking” come from?
gainseeking (English) comes from English gain, from Middle French gain, from Old French gaaing, from Old French gaaignier, from Vulgar Latin *wadaniāre, from English unspecified, from English Un-, from Middle English un- — not.
gainseeking (English): Seeking wealth or other personal benefit
Definitions
- Seeking wealth or other personal benefit
Ancestry of “gainseeking”, step by step
gainseeking traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English gain
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | gain | To acquire possession of; To have or receive... |
| 2 | Middle French | gain | income |
| 3 | Old French | gaaing | gain |
| 4 | Old French | gaaignier | Alternative form of gaigner; to earn, gain,... |
| 5 | Vulgar Latin | *wadaniāre | — |
| 6 | English | unspecified | Not specified; not thoroughly explained or... |
| 7 | English | Un- | not |
| 8 | Middle English | un- | — |
| 9 | Old English | un- | negation or absence of: un-, non-; bad; forms... |
| 10 | Proto-West Germanic | un- | not, un- |
| 11 | Proto-Germanic | un- | not, un- |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | n̥- | not, un- |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | ne | not |
via English seeking
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | seeking | The act of one who seeks; a search or quest to... |
| 2 | English | -ing | Used to form gerunds, a type of verbal nouns,... |
| 3 | Old English | -ing | Forming nouns from verbs, indicating action,... |
| 4 | Old English | -tūn | homestead, village, town |
| 5 | Old English | tūn | enclosure, yard; place; dwelling |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | tūn | fence |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | tūną | fence; enclosure |
| 8 | Gaulish | dunum | fort; hill, hillfort |
| 9 | Proto-Celtic | dūnom | stronghold, rampart |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | dʰewh₂- | smoke; mist, haze |