Where does “afilen” come from?

afilen (Middle English) comes from Old English afylan, from Old English ā-, from Old English ar-, from Proto-West Germanic uʀ-, from Proto-Germanic uz-, from Proto-Indo-European uss-, from Proto-Indo-European uds-, from Proto-Indo-European úd — out, outward.

afilen (Middle English): to defile, corrupt

Definitions

  1. to defile, corrupt

Ancestry of “afilen”, step by step

afilen traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via Old English afylan

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishafylanto pollute, befoul, defile
2Old Englishā-a-; away, out
3Old Englishar-—
4Proto-West Germanicuʀ-out, over; off, away
5Proto-Germanicuz-up, out
6Proto-Indo-Europeanuss-—
7Proto-Indo-Europeanuds-up, out
8Proto-Indo-Europeanúdout, outward

via Middle English A

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishA—
2Middle EnglishII (first-person singular subject pronoun)
3Old EnglishiċI
4Proto-West GermanicikI
5Proto-Germanic*ek—
6Proto-Indo-Europeanéǵh₂I

via Middle English filen

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishfilento defile
2Old Englishfȳlanto defile, make foul
3Proto-Germanic*fūlijan—
4Proto-Germanicfūlazfoul, dirty; rotten
5Proto-Indo-Europeanpū-rotten, putrid; be rotten; putrid; to rot, swell,...
Every word from Proto-Indo-European úd →Every word from Proto-Indo-European uds- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European uss- →