Where does “hardworking” come from?
Hardworking combines English hard from Old English heard (Proto-Germanic harduz, from Proto-Indo-European kert-) and English work from Proto-Indo-European wer- and wreg-.
hardworking (English): Of a person, taking their work seriously and...
Definitions
- Of a person, taking their work seriously and...
Ancestry of “hardworking”, step by step
hardworking traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English working
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | working | Operation; action; Method of operation; The... |
| 2 | Middle English | werking | — |
| 3 | Old English | wyrċing | working, doing |
| 4 | Old English | -ing | Forming nouns from verbs, indicating action,... |
| 5 | Old English | -tūn | homestead, village, town |
| 6 | Old English | tūn | enclosure, yard; place; dwelling |
| 7 | Proto-West Germanic | tūn | fence |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | tūną | fence; enclosure |
| 9 | Gaulish | dunum | fort; hill, hillfort |
| 10 | Proto-Celtic | dūnom | stronghold, rampart |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | dʰewh₂- | smoke; mist, haze |
via English hard
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | hard | Having a severe property; presenting difficulty;... |
| 2 | Old French | hardi | hardy; tough; durable |
| 3 | Old French | hardir | to harden |
| 4 | Frankish | hardijan | to harden, to make hard |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | hardijaną | to make hard, strong; to harden |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | harduz | hard; brave |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | kert- | times; to weave, twist together; time |
| 8 | Proto-Turkic | *keŕ- | to travel, tour |