Etymology Explorer › French

Where does “building” come from?

building (French) comes from English building, from English -ing, from Old English -ing, from Old English -tūn, from Old English tūn, from Proto-West Germanic tūn, from Proto-Germanic tūną, from Gaulish dunum — smoke; mist, haze.

building (French): tower, skyscraper

Definitions

  1. tower, skyscraper

Ancestry of “building”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishbuildingThe act or process by which something is built;...
2English-ingUsed to form gerunds, a type of verbal nouns,...
3Old English-ingForming nouns from verbs, indicating action,...
4Old English-tūn—
5Old Englishtūnenclosure, yard; place; dwelling
6Proto-West Germanictūnfence
7Proto-Germanictūnąfence; enclosure
8Gaulishdunumfort; hill, hillfort
9Proto-Celticdūnomstronghold, rampart
10Proto-Indo-Europeandʰewh₂-smoke; mist, haze

Words derived from “building”

  • buildings
Every word from Proto-Indo-European dʰewh₂- →