Where does “withhold” come from?
Withhold comes from Middle English withholden, a verb combining with and holden meaning to hold back or retain.
withhold (English): To keep to oneself rather than giving it back to...
Definitions
- To keep to oneself rather than giving it back to...
Ancestry of “withhold”, step by step
withhold traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via English hold
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | hold | To grasp or grip; To contain or store; "To... |
| 2 | English | hole | A hollow place or cavity; an excavation; a pit;... |
| 3 | Middle English | hole | healthy; safe; whole, complete, full |
| 4 | Old English | hol | a hole, a hollow; calumny; slander |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | hol | hollow; hole |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | hulą | a hollow; depression; hole |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | hulaz | hollow |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱel- | to cover; to incline |
via English with
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | with | Against; In the company of; alongside, close to;... |
| 2 | Middle English | wiþ | with |
| 3 | Old English | wiþ | against, opposite; along, towards; with |
| 4 | Old English | wiþer | toward, against; again, against; against, in... |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | wiþr | toward, against |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | wiþrą | toward, against |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | wī-tero- | further apart |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | wi | apart, asunder; away from, against |
via Middle English withholden
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | withholden | — |