Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “-craft” come from?

-craft (Middle English) comes from Old English -cræft, from Old English cræft, from Proto-West Germanic kraftu, from Proto-Germanic kraftuz, from Proto-Germanic -þuz, from Proto-Indo-European -tus — Derives action nouns from verb roots.

Ancestry of “-craft”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old English-cræftdenoting an art or science; denoting strength or...
2Old Englishcræftstrength, power; skill; art
3Proto-West Germanickraftustrength, power; skill
4Proto-Germanickraftuzstrength, power
5Proto-Germanic-þuzForms result nouns from verb roots, usually from...
6Proto-Indo-European-tusDerives action nouns from verb roots

Words derived from “-craft”

  • statecraft
  • priestcraft
  • woodcraft
  • hovercraft
  • kingcraft
  • needlecraft
  • siegecraft
  • warcraft
  • starcraft
  • bushcraft
  • mothercraft
  • spycraft
  • songcraft
  • pencraft
  • wordcraft
  • scoutcraft
  • rivercraft
  • parentcraft
  • bookcraft
  • ringcraft
  • swordcraft
  • metalcraft
  • courtcraft
  • racecraft
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -tus →