Where does “smother” come from?

Smother comes from Middle English smothren, from Old English smorþor, which combined Old English smorþ- with the agent suffix -þor derived from Proto-Germanic -þrą, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European -trom and -tḗr.

smother (English): To suffocate; stifle; obstruct, more or less...

Definitions

  1. To suffocate; stifle; obstruct, more or less...

Ancestry of “smother”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishsmother—
2Old Englishsmorþorsmoke
3Old English-þorinstrumental suffix creating neuter nouns from...
4Proto-West Germanic-þrForms nouns denoting a tool or instrument; Forms...
5Proto-Germanic-þrąForms nouns denoting a tool or instrument
6Proto-Indo-European*-trom—

Words derived from “smother”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European *-trom →Every word from Proto-West Germanic -þr →Every word from Old English -þor →