Where does “unhealthy” come from?
Unhealthy derives from English healthy, which comes from English health, traced back through Proto-Indo-European óynos and Latin -ia and -ivus formations to Proto-Indo-European -kos.
unhealthy (English): characterized by, or conducive to poor health;...
Definitions
- characterized by, or conducive to poor health;...
Ancestry of “unhealthy”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | healthy | Enjoying health and vigor of body, mind, or... |
| 2 | English | -y | Added to nouns and adjectives to form adjectives... |
| 3 | Middle English | -y | Designates an adjective, in many cases formed by... |
| 4 | Old English | -iġ | -y, -ic |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | -g | Forms adjectives from nouns and verbs with a... |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | -gaz | -y |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -ḱos | -y, -ic |