Where does “uphold” come from?
Uphold comes from Middle English upholden, meaning to hold up or support physically or mentally.
uphold (English): To hold up; to lift on high; to elevate; To keep...
Definitions
- To hold up; to lift on high; to elevate; To keep...
Ancestry of “uphold”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | upholden | to repair, uphold |
| 2 | Middle English | up- | — |
| 3 | Old English | ūp- | up- |
| 4 | Old English | ūp | up, from above |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | upp | up, upwards |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | ub | under |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | upó | under, below |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₃ewp- | — |
Words derived from “uphold”