Where does “dreadnought” come from?

dreadnought (French) comes from English dreadnought, from English dread, from Middle English dreden, from Old English drǣdan, from Old English ondrǣdan, from Proto-West Germanic andarādan, from Proto-West Germanic anda-, from Proto-Germanic anda- — on, onto.

dreadnought (French): dreadnought (battleship in which most of the firepower is concentrated in large guns that are of the same caliber)

Definitions

  1. dreadnought (battleship in which most of the firepower is concentrated in large guns that are of the same caliber)

Ancestry of “dreadnought”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishdreadnoughta battleship, especially of the World War I era,...
2EnglishdreadTo fear greatly; To anticipate with fear; To be...
3Middle EnglishdredenTo fear or dread
4Old Englishdrǣdanto fear, dread
5Old Englishondrǣdanto fear, dread
6Proto-West Germanicandarādanto be afraid, fear; to be in awe
7Proto-West Germanicanda-against, opposing; in return, back; facing,...
8Proto-Germanicanda-against, opposing; un-, de-
9Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂éntiopposite; near; in front
10Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂éntsforehead; front
11Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂ent-face; forehead; front
12Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂en-on, onto
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂en-