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

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishlyġelie, falsehood
2Proto-West Germanic*lugifalse, lying
3Proto-Germaniclugizlie, falsehood
4Proto-Indo-Europeanlewgʰ-to lie, to tell falsehood

Words derived from “lie

Every word from Proto-Indo-European lewgʰ-