Where does “-kin” come from?
-kin (Middle English) comes from Old English cynn, from Proto-West Germanic *kuni, from Proto-Germanic kunją, from Proto-Indo-European ǵn̥h₁yom, from Proto-Indo-European ǵenh₁- — to produce, to beget, to give birth.
-kin (Middle English): small
Ancestry of “-kin”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old English | cynn | kind; tribe, race, species; family |
| 2 | Proto-West Germanic | *kuni | — |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | kunją | kin, family, clan; omen, portent, miracle |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵn̥h₁yom | — |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵenh₁- | to produce, to beget, to give birth |
Words derived from “-kin”