Where does “drift” come from?

drift (Middle English) comes from Old English drift, from Proto-Germanic driftiz, from Proto-Indo-European dʰreybʰ-, from Proto-Indo-European dʰer- — to support; to hold.

Ancestry of “drift”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishdriftan act of driving (cattle, herds, etc.); movement
2Proto-Germanicdriftizdriving
3Proto-Indo-Europeandʰreybʰ-to drive, push
4Proto-Indo-Europeandʰer-to support; to hold

Words derived from “drift”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European dʰer- →