Where does “wolverine” come from?
Wolverine derives from English wolvering, an agent noun from English wolver, which comes from English wolf, tracing back through Middle English wolf and Old English wulf to Proto-Germanic wulfaz and ultimately Proto-Indo-European wĺ̥kʷos.
wolverine (English): A solitary, fierce mammal of the Mustelidae...
Definitions
- A solitary, fierce mammal of the Mustelidae...
Ancestry of “wolverine”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | wolvering | — |
| 2 | English | wolver | ravenous or savage animal; person who behaves... |
| 3 | English | -er | A person or thing that does an action indicated... |
| 4 | Middle English | -er | agentive suffix; agent noun suffix |
| 5 | Old French | -er | Alternative form of -ier, verbal suffix;... |
| 6 | Latin | -āre | first conjugation |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | -āō | Forms primarily denominative verbs |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -eh₂yéti | Creates iterative/ frequentative/ intensive... |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -yéti | Creates intransitive, often deponent,... |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | yé- | — |
| 11 | Chichewa | iye | he, she |