Where does “slaken” come from?
slaken (Middle English) comes from Old English sleacian, from Old English slæc, from Proto-Germanic slakaz, from Proto-Indo-European (s)leh₁g- — weak, feeble; weak, faint.
slaken (Middle English): to render slack, to slake
Definitions
- to render slack, to slake
Ancestry of “slaken”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old English | sleacian | — |
| 2 | Old English | slæc | lazy |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | slakaz | slack, lax |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)leh₁g- | weak, feeble; weak, faint |
Words derived from “slaken”