Where does “underlining” come from?
Underlining comes from English line, from Old English -ing, from Proto-Indo-European līno-, meaning flexible or pliant material.
underlining (English): present participle of underline; An act or...
Definitions
- present participle of underline; An act or...
Ancestry of “underlining”, step by step
underlining traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English lining
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | lining | A covering for the inside surface of something;... |
| 2 | English | line | A path through two or more points (compare ‘segment’); a continuous mark, including as made by a pen; any path, curved or straight |
| 3 | Middle English | line | rope, cord; line, rule, ruler, measure; rule,... |
| 4 | Old English | līne | line, rope, cord; line, cable, rope, hawser,... |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | *līnā | line, chord, rope, string |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | līnǭ | that which is made of flax; line, chord, rope,... |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | līną | flax |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | līno- | flax |
via English underline
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | underline | A line placed underneath a piece of text in order... |
| 2 | English | under- | Beneath, under |
| 3 | English | under | In or at a lower level than; As a subject of;... |
| 4 | Middle English | under | under |
| 5 | Old English | under | under, beneath |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | under | among, between; under, beneath; under |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁entér | between |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁en | in; in, inside |