Where does “sounder” come from?
Sounder comes from Old English ġesundra, from Old French sonder, from Proto-Germanic sundą meaning to swim, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European swem-.
sounder (English): comparative form of sound: more sound; Something,...
Definitions
- comparative form of sound: more sound; Something,...
Ancestry of “sounder”, step by step
sounder traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via French sonder
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | sonder | to probe; to survey and take measurements using a... |
| 2 | Middle French | sonder | — |
| 3 | Old French | sonder | to plumb |
| 4 | Old French | sonde | sounding line |
| 5 | Old English | sund | swimming; sea, water |
| 6 | Old Norse | sund | swimming; strait, sound; swimming, sound |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | sundą | swimming; sound, strait |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | swimmaną | to be unsteady; to swim; float |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | swem(bʰ)- | to bend, turn, swing; to be unsteady, move, swim |
via Middle English soundar
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | soundar | Alternative form of sounere |