Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “underkill” come from?

underkill (English) comes from English kill, from Middle English killen, from Old English cwellan, from Proto-West Germanic kwalljan, from Proto-Germanic kwaljaną, from Proto-Germanic -janą, from Proto-Indo-European -yéti, from Proto-Indo-European yé- — he, she.

underkill (English): Insufficient disposal because of inadequate...

Definitions

  1. Insufficient disposal because of inadequate...

Ancestry of “underkill”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishkillTo put to death; to extinguish the life of; To...
2Middle Englishkillen—
3Old Englishcwellanto kill; to slay
4Proto-West Germanickwalljanto make suffer, to hurt
5Proto-Germanickwaljanąto make suffer, to hurt
6Proto-Germanic-janąDerives denominatives from nouns and factitives...
7Proto-Indo-European-yétiCreates intransitive, often deponent,...
8Proto-Indo-Europeanyé-—
9Chichewaiyehe, she
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