Where does “soap suds” come from?

soap suds (English) comes from English suds, from English sud, from English sod, from English sodden, from Middle English sodden, from Old English soden, from Proto-West Germanic *sodan, from Proto-Germanic sudanaz — to roil; to move about, roil, seethe.

soap suds (English): Lather, suds, foam produced by soap in water

Definitions

  1. Lather, suds, foam produced by soap in water

Ancestry of “soap suds”, step by step

soap suds traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English suds

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishsudsLather; foam or froth formed by mixing soap and...
2EnglishsudA bubble of lather or foam
3EnglishsodThat stratum of the surface of the soil which is...
4EnglishsoddenSoaked or drenched with liquid; soggy, saturated;...
5Middle Englishsodden
6Old Englishsoden
7Proto-West Germanic*sodan
8Proto-Germanicsudanaz
9Proto-Germanicseuþanąto seethe; boil
10Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂sewt-to roil; to move about, roil, seethe

via English soap

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishsoapA substance able to mix with both oil and water,...
2Middle EnglishsopeSoap; a cleaning agent especially if liquid
3Old Englishsāpesoap, salve
4Proto-West Germanicsaipāsoap
5Proto-Germanicsaipǭsoap
6Proto-Indo-Europeanseyb-to pour, leak, trickle; to pour out, trickle,...
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂sewt-