Etymology Explorer › Old English

Where does “drefan” come from?

drefan (Old English) comes from Proto-West Germanic drōbijan, from Proto-Germanic drōbijaną, from Proto-Indo-European dʰrebʰ- — to become thick or cloudy, curdle, ferment; to...

Ancestry of “drefan”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-West Germanicdrōbijanto make turbid, cloudy; to trouble, to disturb
2Proto-GermanicdrōbijanąTo trouble, disturb
3Proto-Indo-Europeandʰrebʰ-to become thick or cloudy, curdle, ferment; to...

Words derived from “drefan”

  • dreave
  • dreve
  • dreven
Every word from Proto-Indo-European dʰrebʰ- →