Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “undermining” come from?

Undermining comes from English undermine, from English mine, from French mine meaning "to excavate," from Proto-Indo-European men- meaning "to project" or "protrude."

undermining (English): present participle of undermine; The act or...

Definitions

  1. present participle of undermine; The act or...

Ancestry of “undermining”, 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

Words derived from “undermining”

  • underminingly
Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)mēy(H)- →