Where does “soulmate” come from?
Soul mate combines English soul, from French souler and Old French sol, from Latin solidus meaning "solid" or "whole," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots ḱóm and seh₂- meaning "together" and "to bind."
soulmate (English): Someone, especially a romantic partner, with whom...
Definitions
- Someone, especially a romantic partner, with whom...
Ancestry of “soulmate”, step by step
soulmate traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English maté
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | maté | An evergreen tree, Ilex paraquariensis, native to... |
| 2 | Middle English | mate | mate companion, comrade |
| 3 | Middle Low German | māte | — |
| 4 | Old Saxon | gimato | — |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | gamatjô | — |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | ga- | Indicates association or togetherness; co-;... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱóm | beside, near, by, with |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱe | Deictic particle, here; Post-positional... |
| 9 | Middle English | kyt | — |
| 10 | German | kitt | putty certain kinds of cement used for fixing e.g. window panes |
| 11 | Old High German | kuti | — |
| 12 | Proto-West Germanic | kwidu | gum, resin |
| 13 | Proto-Germanic | kweduz | resin |
| 14 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷet- | resin, gum; to say, speak |
| 15 | Proto-Indo-European | gū- | to bend; curve; arch; vault; to bow, bend, arch,... |
via English soul
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | soul | The spirit or essence of a person usually thought... |
| 2 | Middle English | soule | A soul or spirit; an animating force |
| 3 | Middle English | sowel | Food, especially that served with bread as a side or condiment; sowl |
| 4 | Old English | sufel | anything eaten with bread, e.g. meat, vegetables,... |
| 5 | English | soufflé | A baked dish made from beaten egg whites and... |
| 6 | French | soufflé | soufflé; past participle of souffler |
| 7 | French | souffler | to blow; to blow out; to whisper |
| 8 | Old French | sofler | — |
| 9 | Latin | sufflō | to blow, puff up, inflate |
| 10 | Latin | flō | to breathe, blow |
| 11 | Proto-Italic | flāō | — |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰleh₁- | to bleat; to cry; to blow |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰel- | to sound; to speak, roar, bark; shiny, white; to... |
| 14 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰōl- | — |