Where does “portraying” come from?

Portraying derives from Middle French portraire, from Latin protraho meaning to draw forth, combining pro- with traho meaning to draw, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European per- and bʰuH-.

portraying (English): present participle of portray

Definitions

  1. present participle of portray

Ancestry of “portraying”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1English-ingUsed to form gerunds, a type of verbal nouns,...
2Old English-ingForming nouns from verbs, indicating action,...
3Old English-tūnhomestead, village, town
4Old Englishtūnenclosure, yard; place; dwelling
5Proto-West Germanictūnfence
6Proto-Germanictūnąfence; enclosure
7Gaulishdunumfort; hill, hillfort
8Proto-Celticdūnomstronghold, rampart
9Proto-Indo-Europeandʰewh₂-smoke; mist, haze
Every word from Proto-Indo-European dʰewh₂-Every word from Proto-Celtic dūnomEvery word from English -ing
portraying — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer