Where does “lifesaving” come from?
Lifesaving is a compound of English life and English save, where save derives from Middle English and Old English -ing forms ultimately tracing to Latin salvare, meaning "to make safe," from Latin salvus, "safe," with roots in Proto-Indo-European lip- and ley-.
lifesaving (English): Alternative form of life-saving; The act of...
Definitions
- Alternative form of life-saving; The act of...
Ancestry of “lifesaving”, step by step
lifesaving traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English saving
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | saving | A reduction in cost or expenditure |
| 2 | English | -ing | Used to form gerunds, a type of verbal nouns,... |
| 3 | Old English | -ing | Forming nouns from verbs, indicating action,... |
| 4 | Old English | -tūn | homestead, village, town |
| 5 | Old English | tūn | enclosure, yard; place; dwelling |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | tūn | fence |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | tūną | fence; enclosure |
| 8 | Gaulish | dunum | fort; hill, hillfort |
| 9 | Proto-Celtic | dūnom | stronghold, rampart |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | dʰewh₂- | smoke; mist, haze |
via English life
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | life | The state of organisms preceding their death,... |
| 2 | Middle English | lyf | life |
| 3 | Old English | līf | life, existence; life-time |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | līb | body; life |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | lībą | body; life |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | lībaną | to remain, to be left |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | leyp- | to stick; fat or sticky substance |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | lēy- | to leave, let; to want, desire; to let; leave... |