Where does “suspenseful” come from?
Suspenseful derives from English suspense plus the suffix -ful, which comes from Old English -ful, from Proto-Germanic -fullaz, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European pleh₁-, meaning to fill.
suspenseful (English): Inducing suspense
Definitions
- Inducing suspense
Ancestry of “suspenseful”, step by step
suspenseful traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English suspense
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | suspense | The condition of being suspended; cessation for a... |
| 2 | Middle English | suspense | — |
| 3 | Old French | suspens | postponement; suspension |
| 4 | Latin | suspensus | suspended; anxious; in suspense |
| 5 | Latin | suspendo | I hang up or suspend |
| 6 | Latin | pendēre | — |
| 7 | Latin | pendō | to weigh, weigh out |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | pendō | hang, put in a hanging position |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)péndeti | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)pend- | to stretch |
via English ful
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | ful | — |