Where does “selflessly” come from?
Selflessly comes from English selfless, formed from Old English self combined with Old English -līċ (meaning "like" or "of the nature of"), ultimately deriving from Proto-Indo-European roots meaning "self" and "together."
selflessly (English): In a selfless manner; done in a way that...
Definitions
- In a selfless manner; done in a way that...
Ancestry of “selflessly”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | selfless | Having, exhibiting or motivated by no concern for... |
| 2 | English | -less | (something); without (something). Added usually to a noun to form an adjective signifying a lack of that noun |
| 3 | Middle English | -les | Lacking (something); without (something) |
| 4 | Turkish | -le | with, shortened form of ile; by, shortened form... |
| 5 | Turkish | ile | with; and |
| 6 | Ottoman Turkish | ایله | by |
| 7 | Old Anatolian Turkish | اِیلَه | — |
| 8 | Proto-Turkic | bile | with, together, also |