Where does “heartrending” come from?
Heartrending derives from English heart plus the present participle rending, with heart tracing to Middle English herte, Old English heorte, Proto-Germanic herutaz, and Proto-Indo-European ḱḗr.
heartrending (English): That causes great grief, anguish or distress;...
Definitions
- That causes great grief, anguish or distress;...
Ancestry of “heartrending”, step by step
heartrending traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English heart
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | heart | A muscular organ that pumps blood through the... |
| 2 | Middle English | herte | The heart; One's inner self; the mind or... |
| 3 | Old English | heorte | heart |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | hertā | heart |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | hertô | heart |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱḗr | heart |
via English rending
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | rending | present participle of rend; The act by which... |