Where does “sounden” come from?
sounden (Middle English) comes from Old French sonder, from Old French sonde, from Old English sund, from Old Norse sund, from Proto-Germanic sundą, from Proto-Germanic swimmaną, from Proto-Indo-European swem(bʰ)- — to bend, turn, swing; to be unsteady, move, swim.
Ancestry of “sounden”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old French | sonder | to plumb |
| 2 | Old French | sonde | sounding line |
| 3 | Old English | sund | swimming; sea, water |
| 4 | Old Norse | sund | swimming; strait, sound; swimming, sound |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | sundą | swimming; sound, strait |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | swimmaną | to be unsteady; to swim; float |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | swem(bʰ)- | to bend, turn, swing; to be unsteady, move, swim |
Words derived from “sounden”