Where does “splaien” come from?

splaien (Middle English) comes from Middle English spaien, from Anglo-Norman espeier, from Old French espeer, from Old French -er, from Latin -āre, from Proto-Italic -āō, from Proto-Indo-European -eh₂yéti, from Proto-Indo-European -yéti — he, she.

Ancestry of “splaien”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishspaien
2Anglo-NormanespeierAlternative form of espier; Alternative form of...
3Old Frenchespeerto pierce
4Old French-erAlternative form of -ier, verbal suffix;...
5Latin-ārefirst conjugation
6Proto-Italic-āōForms primarily denominative verbs
7Proto-Indo-European-eh₂yétiCreates iterative/ frequentative/ intensive...
8Proto-Indo-European-yétiCreates intransitive, often deponent,...
9Proto-Indo-Europeanyé-
10Chichewaiyehe, she

Words derived from “splaien

Every word from Chichewa iyeEvery word from Proto-Indo-European -yétiEvery word from Old French -er