Where does “slunk” come from?

Slunk comes from Middle English slynken, Old English slincan, Proto-Germanic slinkaną, and Proto-Indo-European slenk-, ultimately deriving from the root ser- meaning to bind or join.

slunk (English): An animal, especially a calf, born prematurely or...

Definitions

  1. An animal, especially a calf, born prematurely or...

Ancestry of “slunk”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishslinkTo sneak about furtively; To give birth to an...
2Middle Englishslynken
3Old Englishslincanto crawl, slink
4Proto-West Germanicslinkan
5Proto-GermanicslinkanąTo creep; crawl; slink
6Proto-Indo-Europeansleng-
7Proto-Indo-Europeansel-dwelling; piece of wood; beam, post, balk, board,...
8Proto-Indo-Europeanser-to flow; to guard; to bind, to tie together
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ser-
slunk — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer