Where does “widowhead” come from?
widowhead (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.
widowhead (English): Widowhood
Definitions
- Widowhood
Ancestry of “widowhead”, step by step
widowhead 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 head
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | head | The part of the body of an animal or human which... |
| 2 | English | -y | Added to nouns and adjectives to form adjectives... |
| 3 | Middle English | -y | Designates an adjective, in many cases formed by... |
| 4 | Old English | -iġ | -y, -ic |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | -g | Forms adjectives from nouns and verbs with a... |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | -gaz | -y |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -ḱos | -y, -ic |