Where does “songwriting” come from?
Songwriting derives from English song and writing, with song tracing to Old English sang, Proto-Germanic sangwaz, and Proto-Indo-European roots meaning to sing or make music.
songwriting (English): The work of a songwriter
Definitions
- The work of a songwriter
Ancestry of “songwriting”, step by step
songwriting traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English writing
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | writing | Graphism of symbols such as letters that express... |
| 2 | Middle English | writing | — |
| 3 | Old English | wrīting | writing |
| 4 | Old English | wrītan | to incise, engrave; to scratch, carve, write; to... |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | wrītan | to scratch, to carve |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | wrītaną | to scratch, carve; to engrave, inscribe, write |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | wēr- | true |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | wer- | to burn; to cover, heed, notice; squirrel |