Where does “ugly” come from?

ugly (Middle English) comes from Old Norse uggligr, from Old Norse -ligr, from Proto-Germanic -līkaz, from Proto-Germanic līką, from Proto-Indo-European leyǵ- — to bind, tie.

Ancestry of “ugly”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Norseuggligrfeared; doubtful, questionable
2Old Norse-ligrsuffix used to create adjectives, having the...
3Proto-Germanic-līkaz-like, -ly
4Proto-Germaniclīkąbody; corpse, dead body; leech-line, bolt-rope
5Proto-Indo-Europeanleyǵ-to bind, tie

Words derived from “ugly”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European leyǵ- →Every word from Proto-Germanic līką →Every word from Proto-Germanic -līkaz →