Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “slaughtering” come from?

Slaughtering comes from Middle English slaughter, from Old Norse slahtr, meaning the killing of animals for meat.

slaughtering (English): present participle of slaughter; An act of...

Definitions

  1. present participle of slaughter; An act of...

Ancestry of “slaughtering”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishslaughterThe killing of animals, generally for food; A...
2Middle Englishslaughter—
3Old Norseslahtr—
4Proto-Germanicslahtrą—
5Proto-Germanicslahanąto hit, to strike; to kill
6Proto-Indo-Europeanslak-to hit; strike; to hit, strike, throw; to hit,...

Words derived from “slaughtering”

  • manslaughtering
Every word from Proto-Indo-European slak- →