Where does “surprising” come from?
Surprising comes from Middle English -ing combined with Middle French surprise, which derives from Old French surpris, the past participle of surprendre, ultimately from Latin prehendere meaning to seize or catch.
surprising (English): present participle of surprise; Causing surprise;...
Definitions
- present participle of surprise; Causing surprise;...
Ancestry of “surprising”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | surprise | Something unexpected; The feeling that something... |
| 2 | Middle English | surprise | — |
| 3 | Middle French | surprise | Alternative form of surprinse; feminine singular... |
| 4 | Old French | sorprendre | to surprise; to seize; to take control of; to... |
| 5 | Old French | sur- | over, on top of |
| 6 | Latin | super- | super-; over, above |
| 7 | Latin | super | "accusative" above, on the top of, upon;... |
| 8 | Latin | eks-uper | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | upéri | alternative reconstruction of *upér |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | upér | above; over |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | upó | under, below |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | h₃ewp- | — |
Words derived from “surprising”