Where does “hunt down” come from?

hunt down (English) comes from English down, from Middle English doune, from Old English dūne, from Old English adūne, from Old English ofdūne, from Old English dūn, from Proto-Germanic *dūnā, from Proto-Celtic dūnom — smoke; mist, haze.

hunt down (English): To hunt something and capture or kill it; To...

Definitions

  1. To hunt something and capture or kill it; To...

Ancestry of “hunt down”, step by step

hunt down traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English down

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishdownFrom a higher position to a lower one; downwards;...
2Middle Englishdoune
3Old Englishdūnehill; down, downward
4Old Englishadūne
5Old Englishofdūneoff the hill; down
6Old Englishdūnhill, down; hill, dune; hill, mountain
7Proto-Germanic*dūnā
8Proto-Celticdūnomstronghold, rampart
9Proto-Indo-Europeandʰewh₂-smoke; mist, haze

via English hunt

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishhuntTo find or search for an animal in the wild with...
2Middle Englishhuntento hunt
3Cimbrianhuntdog
4Middle High Germanhuntdog (Canis familiaris)
5Old High Germanhuntdog
6Proto-West Germanichunddog
7Proto-Germanichundazdog
8Proto-Indo-Europeanḱwn̥tós
9Proto-Indo-Europeanḱwṓdog
Every word from Proto-Indo-European dʰewh₂-Every word from Proto-Celtic dūnomEvery word from Proto-Germanic *dūnā