Where does “unwive” come from?

unwive (English) comes from English wive, from Middle English wiven, from Old English wīfian, from Old English -ian, from Old English -ōjan, from Proto-West Germanic -ōn, from Proto-Germanic -ōną, from Proto-Indo-European -eh₂yéti — he, she.

unwive (English): To divest of a wife; to divorce from his wife;...

Definitions

  1. To divest of a wife; to divorce from his wife;...

Ancestry of “unwive”, step by step

unwive traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English wive

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishwiveTo marry; To provide with a wife
2Middle Englishwiven
3Old Englishwīfianto marry (a woman)
4Old English-ianForms verbs from nouns and adjectives
5Old English-ōjan
6Proto-West Germanic-ōnCreates denominative verbs from nouns; Creates...
7Proto-Germanic-ōnąCreates denominative verbs from nouns; Creates...
8Proto-Indo-European-eh₂yétiCreates iterative/ frequentative/ intensive...
9Proto-Indo-European-yétiCreates intransitive, often deponent,...
10Proto-Indo-Europeanyé-
11Chichewaiyehe, she

via English un

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishunOne
Every word from Chichewa iyeEvery word from Proto-Indo-European -yétiEvery word from Proto-Germanic -ōną