Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “-som” come from?

-som (Middle English) comes from Old English sum, from Proto-West Germanic *sum, from Proto-Germanic sumaz, from Proto-Indo-European sem- — together, one.

Ancestry of “-som”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishsumsome
2Proto-West Germanic*sum—
3Proto-Germanicsumazsome , a certain; some, certain
4Proto-Indo-Europeansem-together, one

Words derived from “-som”

  • troublesome
  • awesome
  • tiresome
  • cumbersome
  • burdensome
  • lonesome
  • gruesome
  • autosomal
  • fearsome
  • quarrelsome
  • toilsome
  • worrisome
  • ribosomal
  • ribosome
  • noisome
  • bothersome
  • venturesome
  • lysosomal
  • trisomy
  • meddlesome
  • threesome
  • nucleosome
  • foursome
  • darksome
Every word from Proto-Indo-European sem- →