Where does “lick” come from?

Lick comes from Middle English likken, from Old English liccian, from Proto-Germanic likkōną, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European leyǵʰ-.

lick (English): The act of licking; a stroke of the tongue; The...

Definitions

  1. The act of licking; a stroke of the tongue; The...

Ancestry of “lick”, step by step

lick traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via German leute

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanleutepeople several individual persons, a group of people in general, esp. of one kind or another, folk (folks), peeps slang, guys (boys and/or girls)
2Middle High Germanliute—
3Old High Germanliutipeople, subordinates
4Proto-West Germanic*liud(i)—
5Proto-Germanicliudīzman, person
6Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁léwdʰispeople
7Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁lewdʰ-to grow; people

via Middle English likken

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishlikkento lick
2Old Englishliccianto lick
3Proto-West Germaniclikkōnto lick
4Proto-GermaniclekanąTo leak; seep; drip
5Proto-Indo-Europeanleg-to leak

via Middle High German lücke

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle High Germanlücke—
2Old High Germanluccha—

Words derived from “lick”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁lewdʰ- →