Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “soft tennis” come from?

soft tennis (English) comes from Japanese ソフトテニス, from English soft, from Middle English softe, from Old English sōfte, from Proto-West Germanic samftō, from Proto-West Germanic -ō, from Proto-Germanic -ô, from Proto-Indo-European -ō — Derives nouns from roots.

soft tennis (English): A variant of tennis, developed in Japan,...

Definitions

  1. A variant of tennis, developed in Japan,...

Ancestry of “soft tennis”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japaneseソフトテニスsoft tennis
2EnglishsoftEasily giving way under pressure; Smooth and...
3Middle Englishsoftesoft
4Old Englishsōfte—
5Proto-West Germanicsamftōsoftly, gently
6Proto-West Germanic-ōCreates adverbs from adjectives; Creates agent...
7Proto-Germanic-ô-ly; Forms agent nouns, often from the zero-grade...
8Proto-Indo-European-ōDerives nouns from roots
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -ō →