Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “languish” come from?

Languish comes from Middle English languysshen, meaning to become faint or weak.

languish (English): To lose strength and become weak; to be in a...

Definitions

  1. To lose strength and become weak; to be in a...

Ancestry of “languish”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishlanguysshen—
2Middle Frenchlanguir—
3Latinlanguīre—
4Latinlanguēre—

Words derived from “languish”

  • languishing
  • languishment
  • languishingly
  • languisheth
  • languisher
  • languishest
  • languishness
Every word from Latin languēre →