Where does “undermineth” come from?
undermineth (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.
Ancestry of “undermineth”, step by step
undermineth traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English undermine
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | undermine | To dig underneath (something), to make a passage for destructive or military purposes; to sap |
| 2 | English | Mine | Alternative letter-case form of mine "often used... |
| 3 | French | mine | mine; pencil lead; piledriver, scorcher |
| 4 | Breton | min | face of an animal; beak, muzzle |
| 5 | Italian | mina | mine, land mine; lead in pencils; mine which... |
| 6 | Latin | mina | A Greek weight equal to 100 drachmas; A Greek... |
| 7 | Gaulish | mēnā | ore, mine |
| 8 | Proto-Celtic | *meinis | ore, metal |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | mēy(H)nis | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)mēy(H)- | to cut, hew |
via English eth
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | eth | A letter introduced into Old English to... |