Where does “leery” come from?
Leery comes from English leer combined with the English suffix -y, ultimately deriving from Latin -ius and Latin -ivus, which trace back to Proto-Indo-European -kos.
leery (English): Cautious, suspicious, wary, hesitant, or nervous...
Definitions
- Cautious, suspicious, wary, hesitant, or nervous...
Ancestry of “leery”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | leer | To look sideways or obliquely; now especially... |
| 2 | Middle English | lere | empty; Alternative form of lore |
| 3 | Old English | lār | teaching; doctrine; lore, learning, science, art... |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | laiʀu | — |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | laizō | teaching; lore; doctrine |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | laizijaną | to teach |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | loyséyeti | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | leys | to trace; to track |
Words derived from “leery”