Where does “maëlstrom” come from?
maëlstrom (French) comes from Dutch maelstrom, from Dutch stroom, from Middle Dutch strôom, from Old Dutch strōm, from Proto-West Germanic straum, from Proto-Germanic straumaz, from Proto-Indo-European srowmos, from Proto-Indo-European srew- — to flow; to guard; to bind, to tie together.
maëlstrom (French): maelstrom
Definitions
- maelstrom
Ancestry of “maëlstrom”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dutch | maelstrom | — |
| 2 | Dutch | stroom | A flow, current or flush, as of moving water or... |
| 3 | Middle Dutch | strôom | A stream |
| 4 | Old Dutch | strōm | — |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | straum | stream |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | straumaz | stream, current, river |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | srowmos | river |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | srew- | to flow, stream |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | ser- | to flow; to guard; to bind, to tie together |