Where does “survive” come from?
Survive comes from Old French survivre, from Latin supervivo, combining Latin super with a root from Proto-Indo-European gʷeih₃w- meaning to live.
survive (English): Of a person, to continue to live; to remain...
Definitions
- Of a person, to continue to live; to remain...
Ancestry of “survive”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latin | supervīvō | to outlive |
| 2 | Latin | super- | super-; over, above |
| 3 | Latin | super | "accusative" above, on the top of, upon;... |
| 4 | Latin | eks-uper | — |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | upéri | alternative reconstruction of *upér |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | upér | above; over |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | upó | under, below |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₃ewp- | — |