Where does “morþwyrhta” come from?

morþwyrhta (Old English) comes from Old English wyrhta, from Proto-West Germanic wurhtijō, from Proto-West Germanic -jō, from Proto-Indo-European -yéti, from Proto-Indo-European yé-, from Chichewa iye — he, she.

morþwyrhta (Old English): murderer, killer

Definitions

  1. murderer, killer

Ancestry of “morþwyrhta”, step by step

morþwyrhta traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Old English wyrhta

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishwyrhtaa worker; a maker of something
2Proto-West Germanicwurhtijōworker, workman
3Proto-West Germanic-jōForms agent nouns from verbs
4Proto-Indo-European-yétiCreates intransitive, often deponent,...
5Proto-Indo-Europeanyé-—
6Chichewaiyehe, she

via Old English morþ

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishmorþdeath, crime; murder
2Old Norsemorðmurder
3Proto-Germanicmurþądeath; killing, murder
4Proto-Indo-Europeanmr̥tósdead; mortal
5Proto-Indo-Europeanmer-to die; to disappear; sea, lake, wetland
Every word from Chichewa iye →Every word from Proto-Indo-European -yéti →Every word from Proto-West Germanic -jō →
morþwyrhta — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer