Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “misleading” come from?

Misleading derives from the English present participle suffix -ing attached to the verb mislead, with -ing descending through Middle English and Old English -ing forms back to Proto-Germanic -ungō.

misleading (English): Deceptive or tending to mislead or create a false...

Definitions

  1. Deceptive or tending to mislead or create a false...

Ancestry of “misleading”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1English-ingUsed to form gerunds, a type of verbal nouns,...
2Old English-ingForming nouns from verbs, indicating action,...
3Old English-tūn—
4Old Englishtūnenclosure, yard; place; dwelling
5Proto-West Germanictūnfence
6Proto-Germanictūnąfence; enclosure
7Gaulishdunumfort; hill, hillfort
8Proto-Celticdūnomstronghold, rampart
9Proto-Indo-Europeandʰewh₂-smoke; mist, haze

Words derived from “misleading”

  • misleadingly
  • misleadingness
  • unmisleading
  • unmisleadingly
Every word from Proto-Indo-European dʰewh₂- →