Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “suckling” come from?

Suckling comes from Old English -ung, a noun-forming suffix in Proto-Germanic -ungō, attached to the verb suckle.

suckling (English): An infant that is still being breastfed by its...

Definitions

  1. An infant that is still being breastfed by its...

Ancestry of “suckling”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishsukling—
2EnglishsuckAn instance of drawing something into one's mouth...
3Middle EnglishsoukenTo suck; to extract or draw with the mouth; To...
4Old Englishsūcanto suck
5Proto-West Germanicsūkanto suck; to suckle
6Proto-Germanicsūkanąto suck; to suckle
7Proto-Indo-Europeansug-—
8Proto-Indo-Europeansew-to press out, extract; juice; liquid, rain; to...
Every word from Proto-Indo-European sew- →