Where does “baleful” come from?
baleful (Middle English) comes from Old English bealuful, from Old English -ful, from Proto-Germanic -fullaz, from Proto-Germanic fullaz, from Proto-Indo-European pl̥h₁nós, from Proto-Indo-European pleh₁- — to fill.
baleful (Middle English): evil, horrible, malicious; dangerous, harmful,...
Definitions
- evil, horrible, malicious; dangerous, harmful,...
Ancestry of “baleful”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old English | bealuful | — |
| 2 | Old English | -ful | full of; -ful |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | -fullaz | -ful |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | fullaz | full; the whole, the entire |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | pl̥h₁nós | full |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | pleh₁- | to fill |
Words derived from “baleful”