Where does “hurtful” come from?
Hurtful comes from Middle English -ful and Old English -ful, derived from Proto-Germanic -fullaz and fullaz, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European pl̥h₁nós and pleh₁-, meaning full.
hurtful (English): Tending to impair or damage; injurious;...
Definitions
- Tending to impair or damage; injurious;...
Ancestry of “hurtful”, step by step
hurtful traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English hurt
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | hurt | To be painful; To cause physical pain and/or... |
| 2 | Middle English | hurten | To hurt cause an injury or disease |
| 3 | Old Northern French | hurter | — |
via English ful
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | ful | — |