Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “soak” come from?

Soak comes from Middle English soken, from Old English socian, from Proto-Germanic sukōną and sūkaną, tracing back to Proto-Indo-European roots sug- and sew-.

soak (English): To be saturated with liquid by being immersed in...

Definitions

  1. To be saturated with liquid by being immersed in...

Ancestry of “soak”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishsokenAlternative form of souken
2Old Englishsocianto soak, steep
3Proto-Germanicsukōnąto soak
4Proto-Germanicsūkanąto suck; to suckle
5Proto-Indo-Europeansug-—
6Proto-Indo-Europeansew-to press out, extract; juice; liquid, rain; to...

Words derived from “soak”

  • soaking
  • soaker
  • soakage
  • soakaway
  • presoak
  • soakingly
  • socky
  • soaky
  • asoak
  • resoak
  • soaketh
  • oversoak
  • soakable
  • soak in
  • soakest
Every word from Proto-Indo-European sew- →