Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “rest” come from?

Rest comes from Old French rester, from Proto-Germanic rastō meaning to stop or remain, from Latin ad- and steh₂- meaning to stand or stop.

rest (English): Relief from work or activity by sleeping; sleep;...

Definitions

  1. Relief from work or activity by sleeping; sleep;...

Ancestry of “rest”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishresterest
2Old Frenchreste—
3Old Frenchresterto stay; to rest; to remain, be left over
4Latinrestō—
5Latinrĕ-—
6Latinprōdūcō—
7Latinprō-—
8Proto-Italic*pro-—
9Proto-Indo-Europeanpro-toward, forward
10Proto-Indo-Europeanpor-to give birth; forward, through; going, passage
11Proto-Indo-Europeanper-before, in front; first; to go through
12Proto-Indo-Europeanpr̥tóspassed , crossed

Words derived from “rest”

  • unrest
  • restroom
  • armrest
  • headrest
  • backrest
  • resteth
  • footrest
  • resthouse
  • restest
  • chinrest
  • restharrow
  • restframe
  • bookrest
  • restward
  • resthold
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós →