Where does “smelly” come from?

Smelly comes from Middle English -y, Middle French -ie, Latin -ia, Latin -ivus, Latin -ia, Proto-Indo-European -kos, and Proto-Indo-European -kos, ultimately forming an adjective suffix denoting quality or state.

smelly (English): Having a bad smell; Having a quality that arouses...

Definitions

Having a bad smell; Having a quality that arouses...

Ancestry of “smelly”, step by step

Step	Language	Word	Meaning
1	English	-y	Added to nouns and adjectives to form adjectives...
2	Middle English	-y	Designates an adjective, in many cases formed by...
3	Old English	-iġ	-y, -ic
4	Proto-West Germanic	-g	Forms adjectives from nouns and verbs with a...
5	Proto-Germanic	-gaz	-y
6	Proto-Indo-European	-ḱos	-y, -ic

Words derived from “smelly”

smelliness
unsmelly
smellily

Every word from Proto-Indo-European -ḱos →Every word from English -y →Every word from Old English -iġ →