Where does “keeping” come from?
Keeping derives from Middle English kepen, Old English cēpan, Proto-Germanic kōpijaną, and Proto-Indo-European ǵab-, with the sense evolving from grasping or holding to guarding or maintaining.
keeping (English): conformity or harmony; charge or care;...
Definitions
- conformity or harmony; charge or care;...
Ancestry of “keeping”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | keep | To continue in (a course or mode of action); to not intermit or fall from; to uphold or maintain |
| 2 | Middle English | kepen | to keep, guard, look after, watch |
| 3 | Old English | cēpan | to seize, hold, observe |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | *kōpijan | — |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | kōpijaną | to look after, observe; to watch, keep, care for |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵab- | — |