Where does “undertaken” come from?
undertaken (Middle English) comes from Middle English taken, from Old English tācen, from Old Norse tekinn, from Proto-Germanic tēkanaz, from Proto-Germanic tēkaną, from Proto-Indo-European deh₁g- — to touch.
Ancestry of “undertaken”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | taken | to take; Alternative form of token; Alternative... |
| 2 | Old English | tācen | — |
| 3 | Old Norse | tekinn | past participle of taka; take, took, taken |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | tēkanaz | — |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | tēkaną | to touch; to grasp |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | deh₁g- | to touch |
Words derived from “undertaken”