Where does “unbroken” come from?
Unbroken comes from English unbreak, combining English break with Latin unus (one) and Proto-Indo-European óynos (one) and bʰer- (to bear or carry).
unbroken (English): Whole, not divided into parts; Of a horse, not...
Definitions
- Whole, not divided into parts; Of a horse, not...
Ancestry of “unbroken”, step by step
unbroken traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English unbreak
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | unbreak | To do the inverse of breaking: to mend, restore,... |
| 2 | English | Un- | not |
| 3 | English | still | Not moving; calm; Not effervescing; not... |
| 4 | Old English | stillan | become calm, abate, subside; calm, pacify,... |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | stillijan | to make still, quiet |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | -jan | Creates denominative verbs from nouns; Creates... |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | -janą | Derives denominatives from nouns and factitives... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -yéti | Creates intransitive, often deponent,... |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | yé- | — |
| 10 | Chichewa | iye | he, she |
via Middle English unbroken
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | unbroken | — |
| 2 | Old English | unġebrocen | unbroken |