Etymology Explorer › Middle Dutch

Where does “smeren” come from?

smeren (Middle Dutch) comes from Old Dutch smirwen, from Proto-West Germanic *smirwijan, from Proto-Germanic smirwijaną, from Proto-Germanic -janą, from Proto-Indo-European -yéti, from Proto-Indo-European yé-, from Chichewa iye — he, she.

Ancestry of “smeren”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Dutchsmirwen—
2Proto-West Germanic*smirwijan—
3Proto-Germanicsmirwijanąto smear, anoint
4Proto-Germanic-janąDerives denominatives from nouns and factitives...
5Proto-Indo-European-yétiCreates intransitive, often deponent,...
6Proto-Indo-Europeanyé-—
7Chichewaiyehe, she

Words derived from “smeren”

  • smeren
  • smeerlap
  • insmeren
  • smerig
Every word from Chichewa iye →