Where does “softe” come from?
softe (Middle English) comes from Old English sōfte, from Proto-West Germanic samftō, from Proto-West Germanic -ō, from Proto-Germanic -ô, from Proto-Indo-European -ō — Derives nouns from roots.
softe (Middle English): soft
Ancestry of “softe”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old English | sōfte | — |
| 2 | Proto-West Germanic | samftō | softly, gently |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | -ō | Creates adverbs from adjectives; Creates agent... |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | -ô | -ly; Forms agent nouns, often from the zero-grade... |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | -ō | Derives nouns from roots |
Words derived from “softe”