Where does “stillborn” come from?
Stillborn combines English still and English bear, from Old English bere and Latin stilus, ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European bʰer- meaning to carry or bring forth.
stillborn (English): Dead at birth; Ignored, without influence, or...
Definitions
- Dead at birth; Ignored, without influence, or...
Ancestry of “stillborn”, step by step
stillborn traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Born
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Born | given birth to |
| 2 | English | bourne | A boundary; A goal or destination; A stream or... |
| 3 | Middle English | bourne | A stream or river; a watercourse regardless of size |
| 4 | Old English | burna | stream |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | brunnō | well, spring |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | brunnô | source; wellspring; fountain; brook; stream;... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰréh₁wr̥ | well, spring, source |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰrewh₁- | to boil; to brew |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰer- | to bear, carry |
via English still
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | still | Not moving; calm; Not effervescing; not... |
| 2 | Old English | stillan | become calm, abate, subside; calm, pacify,... |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | stillijan | to make still, quiet |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | -jan | Creates denominative verbs from nouns; Creates... |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | -janą | Derives denominatives from nouns and factitives... |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -yéti | Creates intransitive, often deponent,... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | yé- | — |
| 8 | Chichewa | iye | he, she |