Etymology Explorer › Old English

Where does “scamian” come from?

scamian (Old English) comes from Proto-West Germanic skamēn, from Proto-Germanic skamāną, from Proto-Germanic -āną, from Proto-Germanic -ajaną, from Proto-Indo-European -oyéti, from Proto-Indo-European -yéti, from Proto-Indo-European yé-, from Chichewa iye — he, she.

Ancestry of “scamian”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-West Germanicskamēnto be ashamed
2Proto-Germanicskamānąto be ashamed
3Proto-Germanic-ānąCreates factitive verbs from adjectives, later...
4Proto-Germanic-ajaną—
5Proto-Indo-European-oyétiCreates factitive verbs from adjectives
6Proto-Indo-European-yétiCreates intransitive, often deponent,...
7Proto-Indo-Europeanyé-—
8Chichewaiyehe, she

Words derived from “scamian”

  • schamen
Every word from Chichewa iye →