Where does “sifting” come from?

Sifting comes from Middle English syftynge, derived from the Old English suffix -ing, which developed from Old English -ung, ultimately from Proto-Germanic -ungō.

sifting (English): present participle of sift; The act by which...

Definitions

  1. present participle of sift; The act by which...

Ancestry of “sifting”, step by step

sifting traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English sift

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishsiftTo sieve or strain; To separate or scatter as if...
2Middle EnglishsyftenTo sift, strain, or percolate; to pass through a...
3Old Englishsiftanto sift
4Proto-West Germanicsiftijanto sift

via Middle English syftynge

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishsyftyngesifting

Words derived from “sifting”

Every word from Proto-West Germanic siftijan →Every word from Old English siftan →Every word from Middle English syften →