Where does “unsurmountable” come from?
unsurmountable (English) comes from English surmountable, from English surmount, from Middle English surmounten, from Old French surmonter, from Old French sur-, from Latin super-, from Latin super, from Latin eks-uper.
unsurmountable (English): insurmountable
Ancestry of “unsurmountable”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | surmountable | Able to be surmounted or overcome; defeatable |
| 2 | English | surmount | To get over; to overcome; To cap; to sit on top... |
| 3 | Middle English | surmounten | — |
| 4 | Old French | surmonter | to rise above, surmount |
| 5 | Old French | sur- | over, on top of |
| 6 | Latin | super- | super-; over, above |
| 7 | Latin | super | "accusative" above, on the top of, upon;... |
| 8 | Latin | eks-uper | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | upéri | alternative reconstruction of *upér |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | upér | above; over |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | upó | under, below |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | h₃ewp- | — |