Where does “wildlife” come from?
Wildlife comes from English wild and life, where life derives from Middle English lif, Old English līf, Proto-Germanic *lībaną meaning "to live," and ultimately Proto-Indo-European *wel- meaning "to live or be well."
wildlife (English): Animals, plants, and fungi, not normally...
Definitions
- Animals, plants, and fungi, not normally...
Ancestry of “wildlife”, step by step
wildlife traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English life
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | life | The state of organisms preceding their death,... |
| 2 | Middle English | lyf | life |
| 3 | Old English | līf | life, existence; life-time |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | līb | body; life |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | lībą | body; life |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | lībaną | to remain, to be left |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | leyp- | to stick; fat or sticky substance |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | lēy- | to leave, let; to want, desire; to let; leave... |