Where does “softling” come from?
softling (English) comes 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.
softling (English): A soft, effeminate person; a voluptuary
Definitions
- A soft, effeminate person; a voluptuary
Ancestry of “softling”, step by step
softling traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English soft
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | soft | Easily giving way under pressure; Smooth and... |
| 2 | Middle English | softe | soft |
| 3 | Old English | sōfte | softly |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | samftō | softly, gently |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | -ō | Creates adverbs from adjectives; Creates agent... |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | -ô | -ly; Forms agent nouns, often from the zero-grade... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -ō | Derives nouns from roots |
via English Ling
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Ling | Any of various codlike saltwater fish often used as food by humans, those of the genus Molva, in the family Lotidae |
| 2 | Middle English | ling | Any of various varieties of heather or broom |
| 3 | Old Norse | lyng | heather, ling |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | lingwą | heather, ling |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | lengʷʰom | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | lengʷʰ- | light, agile, nimble; light, not heavy, agile,... |