Where does “motherlessness” come from?
motherlessness (English) comes from English motherless, from Middle English moderles, from Old English mōdorlēas, from Proto-Germanic mōdērlausaz, from Proto-Germanic -lausaz, from Proto-Germanic lausaz, from Proto-Indo-European lewH- — louse.
motherlessness (English): The state or condition of being motherless
Definitions
- The state or condition of being motherless
Ancestry of “motherlessness”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | motherless | Without a mother; Without mother; Without a... |
| 2 | Middle English | moderles | motherless |
| 3 | Old English | mōdorlēas | — |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | mōdērlausaz | without a mother |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | -lausaz | -less, lacking, devoid of |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | lausaz | loose, free; empty, devoid; false, untrue |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | lewH- | louse |