Where does “still” come from?
Still derives from Old English stille, from Latin stilus, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European steyg-, with the prefix de- from Latin de.
still (English): Not moving; calm; Not effervescing; not...
Definitions
- Not moving; calm; Not effervescing; not...
Ancestry of “still”, step by step
still traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via Old English stillan
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old English | stillan | become calm, abate, subside; calm, pacify,... |
| 2 | Proto-West Germanic | stillijan | to make still, quiet |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | -jan | Creates denominative verbs from nouns; Creates... |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | -janą | Derives denominatives from nouns and factitives... |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | -yéti | Creates intransitive, often deponent,... |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | yé- | — |
| 7 | Chichewa | iye | he, she |
via Middle English distillen
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | distillen | — |
| 2 | Old French | distiller | — |
| 3 | Latin | distillare | present active infinitive of distīllō;... |
| 4 | Latin | stilla | a drop; a drop, small quantity |