Where does “landslide” come from?
Landslide derives from English land and slide, with land tracing to Middle English lond, Old English land, and ultimately Proto-Indo-European lendʰ-, meaning to stretch or extend.
landslide (English): A natural disaster that involves the breakup and...
Definitions
- A natural disaster that involves the breakup and...
Ancestry of “landslide”, step by step
landslide traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English slide
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | slide | To move in continuous contact with a surface; To... |
| 2 | Middle English | sliden | To slide; to propel oneself along a surface; To... |
| 3 | Old English | slīdan | to slide |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | slīdaną | to slide, to slip |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | sléydʰ-e-ti | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | sleydʰ- | to slip, slide; to be slippery, slick |