Where does “widowdom” come from?
widowdom (English) comes from English widow, from Middle English widwe, from Old English widuwe, from Proto-West Germanic widuwā, from Proto-Germanic widuwǭ, from Proto-Indo-European h₁widʰéwh₂, from Proto-Indo-European h₁weydʰh₁-, from Proto-Indo-European dwi- — two.
Ancestry of “widowdom”, step by step
widowdom traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English widow
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | widow | A person whose spouse is absent |
| 2 | Middle English | widwe | widow |
| 3 | Old English | widuwe | widow |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | widuwā | widow |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | widuwǭ | widow |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁widʰéwh₂ | widow |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁weydʰh₁- | to separate, divide |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | dwi- | two; apart, asunder |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | dwóh₁ | two |
via English DOM
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | DOM | Initialism of date of marriage; Initialism of... |
| 2 | English | dominance | The state of being dominant; of prime importance;... |
| 3 | English | -ance | Added to an adjective or verb to form a noun... |
| 4 | Middle English | -aunce | Forms nouns indicating states or processes, usually from verbs or other nouns; -ance |
| 5 | Old French | -ance | ance (suffix used to form nouns) |
| 6 | Latin | -ia | Used to form a feminine abstract noun, usually... |
| 7 | Latin | -ius | forming adjectives from nouns; nominative neuter... |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | -jōs | Forms comparative adjectives |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -yós | Creates adjectives from noun or verb stems |