Where does “groundswell” come from?
Groundswell comes from English ground and English swell, with ground tracing to Old Norse grind meaning to grind, and swell deriving from Proto-Indo-European gʰrendʰ- meaning to rub or crush.
groundswell (English): A broad undulation of the open ocean, often as...
Definitions
- A broad undulation of the open ocean, often as...
Ancestry of “groundswell”, step by step
groundswell traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English ground
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | ground | The surface of the Earth, as opposed to the sky... |
| 2 | Middle English | ground | ground; Earth |
| 3 | Old English | grund | ground; bottom, foundation; abyss, depths |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | grunduz | ground, foundation |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | gʰrem- | to be angry; to sound, bellow, growl, roar, be... |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | gʰer- | to rub; to stroke; to grind |
via English swell
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | swell | To become bigger, especially due to being... |
| 2 | Middle English | swellen | To swell; to grow or become bigger or stronger;... |
| 3 | Old English | swellan | to swell |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | *swellan | — |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | swellaną | to swell |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | swel- | to smolder; burn; scorch; beam, board, frame,... |