Where does “kindhearted” come from?
Kindhearted combines English kind, from Middle English cunde and Old English cynd (nature, essential character), with English heart, from Old English heorte, both ultimately tracing to Proto-Indo-European ǵénh₁tis (birth, family) and ḱḗr (heart).
kindhearted (English): Having an innately kind disposition or character
Definitions
- Having an innately kind disposition or character
Ancestry of “kindhearted”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | kind | A type, race or category; a group of entities... |
| 2 | Middle English | kynde | — |
| 3 | Middle English | -nesse | Affixed to adjectives to form abstract nouns... |
| 4 | Old English | -nes | Used to form abstract nouns, usually from... |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | -nassī | Used to form abstract nouns, usually from... |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | -inassuz | -ness |
| 7 | Proto-West Germanic | -ī | -ness, -th |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | -į̄ | -th |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -íh₂ | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -h₂ | Creates collective nouns, which refer to groups... |
Words derived from “kindhearted”