Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “nonthreateningly” come from?

nonthreateningly (English) comes from English nonthreatening, from English threatening, from English -ing, from Old English -ing, from Old English -tūn, from Old English tūn, from Proto-West Germanic tūn, from Proto-Germanic tūną — smoke; mist, haze.

nonthreateningly (English): In a way that is not threatening

Definitions

  1. In a way that is not threatening

Ancestry of “nonthreateningly”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishnonthreateningNot threatening; not presenting a threat
2Englishthreateningpresent participle of threaten; Presenting a...
3English-ingUsed to form gerunds, a type of verbal nouns,...
4Old English-ingForming nouns from verbs, indicating action,...
5Old English-tūn—
6Old Englishtūnenclosure, yard; place; dwelling
7Proto-West Germanictūnfence
8Proto-Germanictūnąfence; enclosure
9Gaulishdunumfort; hill, hillfort
10Proto-Celticdūnomstronghold, rampart
11Proto-Indo-Europeandʰewh₂-smoke; mist, haze
Every word from Proto-Indo-European dʰewh₂- →