Where does “withering” come from?
Withering derives from Middle English -ing and Old English -ing, -ung, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European wī- and weye-, though the precise semantic development remains unclear.
withering (English): Tending to destroy, devastate, overwhelm or cause...
Definitions
- Tending to destroy, devastate, overwhelm or cause...
Ancestry of “withering”, 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 | homestead, village, town |
| 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 |