Where does “suffer” come from?
Suffer comes from Middle English suffren, from Old French suffrir, from Latin sufferre meaning "to bear or endure," formed from Latin sub "under" and the Proto-Indo-European root bʰer- "to carry."
suffer (English): To undergo hardship; To feel pain; To become...
Definitions
- To undergo hardship; To feel pain; To become...
Ancestry of “suffer”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | suffren | suffer |
| 2 | Old French | sofrir | to suffer |
| 3 | Vulgar Latin | sufferire | present active infinitive of *sufferiō |
| 4 | Latin | sufferō | to put or lay under |
| 5 | Latin | ferō | to bear; to carry |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | ferō | carry, bear |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰéreti | to be carrying |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰēr- | shiny, light brown |