Where does “unsustainable” come from?
Unsustainable derives from English sustainable, which comes from English sustain, traced through Proto-Indo-European óynos and ano- to Latin teneo, meaning to hold.
unsustainable (English): Not sustainable
Definitions
- Not sustainable
Ancestry of “unsustainable”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | sustainable | Able to be sustained; Able to be produced or... |
| 2 | English | sustain | To maintain, or keep in existence; To provide for... |
| 3 | Middle English | susteinen | — |
| 4 | Old French | sustenir | to hold up; to support; to support; to sustain |
| 5 | Vulgar Latin | sustenire | — |
| 6 | Latin | sustineo | I hold up or upright, uphold, keep up, bear up,... |
| 7 | Latin | sub- | under, sub |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | upó | under, below |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | h₃ewp- | — |