Where does “smother” come from?

smother (Middle English) comes from Old English smorþor, from Old English -þor, from Proto-West Germanic -þr, from Proto-Germanic -þrą, from Proto-Indo-European *-trom.

Ancestry of “smother”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishsmorþorsmoke
2Old English-þorinstrumental suffix creating neuter nouns from...
3Proto-West Germanic-þrForms nouns denoting a tool or instrument; Forms...
4Proto-Germanic-þrąForms nouns denoting a tool or instrument
5Proto-Indo-European*-trom—

Words derived from “smother”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European *-trom →Every word from Proto-West Germanic -þr →Every word from Old English -þor →