Where does “starbeam” come from?
starbeam (English) comes from English star, from Middle English sterre, from Old English steorra, from Proto-West Germanic sterrō, from Proto-Germanic sternô, from Proto-Indo-European h₂stḗr, from Proto-Indo-European h₂eHs- — to be/become dry; to burn, to glow; hearth.
starbeam (English): A ray or set of rays of starlight (light emitted from a star); especially, an intense and visible one, as revealed for example by its diffraction among dust particles
Definitions
- A ray or set of rays of starlight (light emitted from a star); especially, an intense and visible one, as revealed for example by its diffraction among dust particles
Ancestry of “starbeam”, step by step
starbeam traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English star
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | star | Any small luminous dot appearing in the cloudless... |
| 2 | Middle English | sterre | star |
| 3 | Old English | steorra | star |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | sterrō | — |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | sternô | star |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂stḗr | star |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂eHs- | to be/become dry; to burn, to glow; hearth |
via English beam
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | beam | Any large piece of timber or iron long in... |
| 2 | Middle English | beem | A usually wooden beam or pole |
| 3 | Old English | bēam | tree, cross, gallows, column, pillar, wood, beam,... |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | baum | tree; beam |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | baumaz | Alternative form of *bagmaz; tree, beam, balk;... |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰew- | to grow, swell; to swell, wax, grow; to blow; to... |