Where does “spinsterdom” come from?
spinsterdom (English) comes from English DOM, from English dominance, from English -ance, from Middle English -aunce, from Old French -ance, from Latin -ia, from Latin -ius, from Proto-Italic -jōs — Creates adjectives from noun or verb stems.
spinsterdom (English): The state of being a spinster; The world or...
Definitions
- The state of being a spinster; The world or...
Ancestry of “spinsterdom”, step by step
spinsterdom traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English DOM
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | DOM | Initialism of date of marriage; Initialism of... |
| 2 | English | dominance | The state of being dominant; of prime importance;... |
| 3 | English | -ance | Added to an adjective or verb to form a noun... |
| 4 | Middle English | -aunce | Forms nouns indicating states or processes, usually from verbs or other nouns; -ance |
| 5 | Old French | -ance | ance (suffix used to form nouns) |
| 6 | Latin | -ia | Used to form a feminine abstract noun, usually... |
| 7 | Latin | -ius | forming adjectives from nouns; nominative neuter... |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | -jōs | Forms comparative adjectives |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -yós | Creates adjectives from noun or verb stems |
via English spinster
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | spinster | A woman who has never been married, especially... |
| 2 | Middle English | spynnestere | A spinner; a person normally a woman who spins fibre as a job |
| 3 | Middle English | spinnen | To spin or convert fibre into yarn; To make... |
| 4 | Old English | spinnan | to spin |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | spinnaną | to spin |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)pénh₁-ne- | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)penh₁- | to twist; to weave |