Where does “sievish” come from?

sievish (English) comes from English sieve, from Middle English sive, from Old English sife, from Proto-West Germanic sibi, from Proto-Indo-European seyp- — to pour out, trickle, strain; to pour out, drip,...

sievish (English): Like a sieve: unretentive

Definitions

  1. Like a sieve: unretentive

Ancestry of “sievish”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishsieveA device with a mesh bottom to separate, in a...
2Middle Englishsivesieve, riddle, sile; The amount that fits in a...
3Old Englishsifesieve
4Proto-West Germanicsibisieve
5Proto-Indo-Europeanseyp-to pour out, trickle, strain; to pour out, drip,...
Every word from Proto-Indo-European seyp- →
sievish — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer