Where does “wailing” come from?
Wailing derives from Old English wailing, from Proto-Germanic *wailaz combined with the suffix -ungō, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *welh₁- meaning to choose or desire.
wailing (English): A loud drawn out scream or howl; present...
Definitions
- A loud drawn out scream or howl; present...
Ancestry of “wailing”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | -ing | Used to form gerunds, a type of verbal nouns,... |
| 2 | Old English | -ing | Forming nouns from verbs, indicating action,... |
| 3 | Old English | -tūn | — |
| 4 | Old English | tūn | enclosure, yard; place; dwelling |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | tūn | fence |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | tūną | fence; enclosure |
| 7 | Gaulish | dunum | fort; hill, hillfort |
| 8 | Proto-Celtic | dūnom | stronghold, rampart |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | dʰewh₂- | smoke; mist, haze |
Words derived from “wailing”