Where does “workyng” come from?
workyng (Middle English) comes from Old English wyrċende, from Proto-Germanic wurkijandz, from Proto-Germanic *wurkijaną, from Proto-Indo-European wr̥ǵyéti, from Proto-Indo-European -yéti, from Proto-Indo-European yé-, from Chichewa iye — he, she.
Ancestry of “workyng”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old English | wyrċende | — |
| 2 | Proto-Germanic | wurkijandz | — |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | *wurkijaną | — |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | wr̥ǵyéti | to be working, to be at work |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | -yéti | Creates intransitive, often deponent,... |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | yé- | — |
| 7 | Chichewa | iye | he, she |