Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “lynching” come from?

Lynching derives from English lynch (verb) plus the Old English suffix -ung, ultimately from Proto-Germanic -ungō, a nominal suffix forming nouns from verbs.

lynching (English): Execution of a person by mob action without due...

Definitions

  1. Execution of a person by mob action without due...

Ancestry of “lynching”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishLynch—
2Old Englishhlinchill, rising ground, slope; a bank separating...
3Proto-West Germanichlink—
4Proto-Germanichlinkaz—
5Proto-Indo-Europeankleng-to turn, bend; to bend, turn, wind, twist

Words derived from “lynching”

  • antilynching
Every word from Proto-Indo-European kleng- →