Where does “lie” come from?
lie (Middle English) comes from Old English lyġe, from Proto-West Germanic *lugi, from Proto-Germanic lugiz, from Proto-Indo-European lewgʰ- — to lie, to tell falsehood.
Ancestry of “lie”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old English | lyġe | lie, falsehood |
| 2 | Proto-West Germanic | *lugi | — |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | lugiz | lie, falsehood |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | lewgʰ- | to lie, to tell falsehood |