Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “walking” come from?

Walking comes from Middle English walken, Old English wealcian, Proto-Germanic walkōną, and Proto-Indo-European wel-, meaning to roll or turn.

walking (English): present participle of walk; Incarnate as a human;...

Definitions

  1. present participle of walk; Incarnate as a human;...

Ancestry of “walking”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1English-ingUsed to form gerunds, a type of verbal nouns,...
2Old English-ingForming nouns from verbs, indicating action,...
3Old English-tūn—
4Old Englishtūnenclosure, yard; place; dwelling
5Proto-West Germanictūnfence
6Proto-Germanictūnąfence; enclosure
7Gaulishdunumfort; hill, hillfort
8Proto-Celticdūnomstronghold, rampart
9Proto-Indo-Europeandʰewh₂-smoke; mist, haze

Words derived from “walking”

  • bushwalking
  • fieldwalking
  • streetwalking
  • racewalking
  • nonwalking
  • hillwalking
  • speedwalking
  • floorwalking
  • warwalking
  • wirewalking
  • unwalking
  • fellwalking
  • ridgewalking
  • walkingway
  • walkie-talkie
  • barwalking
  • skinwalking
  • уоки-токи
  • воки-токи
  • walkie-talkie
  • walkie-talkie
  • walkie-talkie
Every word from Proto-Indo-European dʰewh₂- →