Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “pleiful” come from?

pleiful (Middle English) comes from Middle English pleye, from Old English pleġa, from Proto-West Germanic plegō, from Proto-West Germanic -ō, from Proto-Germanic -ô, from Proto-Indo-European -ō — Derives nouns from roots.

pleiful (Middle English): playful, joyous

Definitions

  1. playful, joyous

Ancestry of “pleiful”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishpleyeHappiness, mirth, jolliness, or gaiety; Fun,...
2Old Englishpleġaexercise
3Proto-West Germanicplegōcare; an exercise; a game
4Proto-West Germanic-ōCreates adverbs from adjectives; Creates agent...
5Proto-Germanic-ô-ly; Forms agent nouns, often from the zero-grade...
6Proto-Indo-European-ōDerives nouns from roots

Words derived from “pleiful”

  • playful
  • playfully
  • playfulness
  • unplayful
  • unplayfully
  • nonplayful
  • playfuller
  • overplayful
  • unplayfulness
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -ō →