Etymology Explorer › Old English

Where does “trēo” come from?

trēo (Old English) comes from Proto-West Germanic treu, from Proto-Germanic trewą, from English doru, from Ancient Greek δόρυ, from Proto-Hellenic dóru, from Proto-Indo-European dóru, from Proto-Indo-European drew- — hard, firm, strong, solid; hard, fast; tree.

Ancestry of “trēo”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-West Germanictreutree; wood
2Proto-Germanictrewątree
3EnglishdoruAlternative form of dory
4Ancient Greekδόρυwood, tree, stem; spear shaft, spear, lance,...
5Proto-Hellenicdórutree
6Proto-Indo-Europeandórutree
7Proto-Indo-Europeandrew-hard, firm, strong, solid; hard, fast; tree

Words derived from “trēo”

  • true
  • tree
  • trough
  • untrue
  • truism
  • treebeard
  • treeless
  • subtree
  • treetop
  • truely
  • treehouse
  • trew
  • untruly
  • quadtree
  • truing
  • octree
  • treelike
  • troo
  • rooftree
  • axletree
  • treelined
  • treeling
  • treebank
  • supertree
Every word from Proto-Indo-European drew- →