Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “underminable” come from?

underminable (English) comes from English undermine, from English Mine, from French mine, from Breton min, from Italian mina, from Latin mina, from Gaulish mēnā, from Proto-Celtic *meinis — to cut, hew.

underminable (English): Susceptible to being undermined

Definitions

  1. Susceptible to being undermined

Ancestry of “underminable”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishundermineTo dig underneath , to make a passage for...
2EnglishMineAlternative letter-case form of mine "often used...
3Frenchminemine; pencil lead; piledriver, scorcher
4Bretonminface of an animal; beak, muzzle
5Italianminamine, land mine; lead in pencils; mine which...
6LatinminaA Greek weight equal to 100 drachmas; A Greek...
7Gaulishmēnāore, mine
8Proto-Celtic*meinis—
9Proto-Indo-Europeanmēy(H)nis—
10Proto-Indo-European(s)mēy(H)-to cut, hew
Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)mēy(H)- →