Where does “heedless” come from?
Heedless comes from Middle English -les and Old English -lēas, meaning "without," combined with Proto-Germanic hōdijaną and ultimately Proto-Indo-European kadʰ-, meaning "to guard or care for."
heedless (English): Unaware, without noticing; inattentive; careless
Definitions
- Unaware, without noticing; inattentive; careless
Ancestry of “heedless”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | heed | Careful attention; To guard, protect; To mind; to... |
| 2 | Middle English | hēden | — |
| 3 | Old English | hēdan | to heed, take care, observe, attend, guard, take... |
| 4 | Old Norse | héðan | hence |
| 5 | Old Norse | hér | here |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | hē₂r | here, in this place |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱe | Deictic particle, here; Post-positional... |
| 8 | Middle English | kyt | — |
| 9 | German | kitt | putty certain kinds of cement used for fixing e.g. window panes |
| 10 | Old High German | kuti | — |
| 11 | Proto-West Germanic | kwidu | gum, resin |
| 12 | Proto-Germanic | kweduz | resin |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷet- | resin, gum; to say, speak |
| 14 | Proto-Indo-European | gū- | to bend; curve; arch; vault; to bow, bend, arch,... |