Where does “supermotif” come from?

supermotif (English) comes from English super, from English super-ego, from German Über-Ich, from German Ich, from Middle High German ich, from Old High German ih, from Proto-West Germanic ik, from Proto-Germanic *ek — I.

supermotif (English): A stretch of nucleic acid that contains several (sometimes overlapping) motifs

Definitions

  1. A stretch of nucleic acid that contains several (sometimes overlapping) motifs

Ancestry of “supermotif”, step by step

supermotif traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English super

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishsuperOf excellent quality, superfine; better than...
2Englishsuper-egoAlternative spelling of superego
3GermanÜber-Ichsuperego
4GermanIchego, the Ich; self, me, him, etc
5Middle High GermanichI
6Old High GermanihI
7Proto-West GermanicikI
8Proto-Germanic*ek
9Proto-Indo-Europeanéǵh₂I

via English motif

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishmotifA recurring or dominant element; a theme; A short...
2Frenchmotifmotive; motif; pattern, design
3Medieval Latinmotivumnominative neuter singular of mōtīvus; accusative...
4Latinmōtivusstirred
5Latinmōtusmoved, stirred, disturbed, having been moved
6Latin-tusForms the past participle of verbs; Forms...
7Proto-Italic-tus
8Proto-Indo-European-tusDerives action nouns from verb roots
Every word from Proto-Indo-European éǵh₂Every word from Proto-Germanic *ekEvery word from Proto-West Germanic ik