Where does “groundsel” come from?
groundsel (English) comes from Middle English grundeswülie, from Old English grundeswyliġe, from Old English swelgan, from Proto-West Germanic *swelgan, from Proto-Germanic swelganą, from Proto-Indo-European swelk-, from Proto-Indo-European swel- — to smolder; burn; scorch; beam, board, frame,...
groundsel (English): Any of several widely-distributed plants, of the...
Definitions
- Any of several widely-distributed plants, of the...
Ancestry of “groundsel”, step by step
groundsel traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English grundeswülie
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | grundeswülie | groundsel |
| 2 | Old English | grundeswyliġe | — |
| 3 | Old English | swelgan | to swallow; to eat up, devour |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | *swelgan | — |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | swelganą | to gulp, gobble, swallow, devour; to revel |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | swelk- | to gulp |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | swel- | to smolder; burn; scorch; beam, board, frame,... |
via English groundsill
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | groundsill | A timber beam used as the foundation for a... |
| 2 | Middle English | groundselle | — |