Etymology Explorer › Old English

Where does “flēotan” come from?

flēotan (Old English) comes from Proto-West Germanic fleutan, from Proto-Germanic fleutaną, from Proto-Indo-European plewd-, from Proto-Indo-European plew- — to fly, flow, run.

flēotan (Old English): float; to float, swim

Definitions

  1. float; to float, swim

Ancestry of “flēotan”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-West Germanicfleutanto float; to stream
2Proto-Germanicfleutanąto float, stream
3Proto-Indo-Europeanplewd-to fly, flow, run
4Proto-Indo-Europeanplew-to fly, flow, run

Words derived from “flēotan”

  • fleeting
  • fleetingly
  • fleetingness
  • fleten
Every word from Proto-Indo-European plew- →