Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “shieldmaiden” come from?

shieldmaiden (English) comes from English maiden, from Middle English mayden, from Old English mægden, from Proto-West Germanic magadīn, from Proto-West Germanic -īn, from Proto-Germanic -īnaz, from Proto-Indo-European -iHnos, from Proto-Indo-European -no- — adjectival suffix.

shieldmaiden (English): A virgin who had chosen to fight as a warrior in...

Definitions

  1. A virgin who had chosen to fight as a warrior in...

Ancestry of “shieldmaiden”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishmaidenA girl or an unmarried young woman; A female...
2Middle Englishmayden—
3Old Englishmægdengirl; virgin, young unmarried woman
4Proto-West Germanicmagadīnlittle girl
5Proto-West Germanic-īnCreates adjectives from nouns with the sense...
6Proto-Germanic-īnaz-en
7Proto-Indo-European-iHnosCreates adjectives of materials
8Proto-Indo-European-no-adjectival suffix
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -no- →