Where does “zounds” come from?
zounds (English) comes from English wounds, from English wound, from German wunden, from Old English wundian, from Proto-Germanic wundōną, from Proto-Germanic -ōną, from Proto-Indo-European -eh₂yéti, from Proto-Indo-European -yéti — he, she.
zounds (English): Expressing anger, surprise, assertion etc
Definitions
- Expressing anger, surprise, assertion etc
Ancestry of “zounds”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | wounds | plural of wound; Third-person singular simple... |
| 2 | English | wound | An injury, such as a cut, stab, or tear, to a ... |
| 3 | German | wunden | — |
| 4 | Old English | wundian | to wound or injure |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | wundōną | to wound |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | -ōną | Creates denominative verbs from nouns; Creates... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -eh₂yéti | Creates iterative/ frequentative/ intensive... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -yéti | Creates intransitive, often deponent,... |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | yé- | — |
| 10 | Chichewa | iye | he, she |