Where does “underwrītan” come from?

underwrītan (Old English) comes from Old English wrītan, from Proto-West Germanic wrītan, from Proto-Germanic wrītaną, from Proto-Indo-European wēr-, from Proto-Indo-European wer- — to burn; to cover, heed, notice; squirrel.

underwrītan (Old English): to write at the foot of, write under, subscribe

Definitions

  1. to write at the foot of, write under, subscribe

Ancestry of “underwrītan”, step by step

underwrītan traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Old English wrītan

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishwrītanto incise, engrave; to scratch, carve, write; to...
2Proto-West Germanicwrītanto scratch, to carve
3Proto-Germanicwrītanąto scratch, carve; to engrave, inscribe, write
4Proto-Indo-Europeanwēr-true
5Proto-Indo-Europeanwer-to burn; to cover, heed, notice; squirrel

via Old English under

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishunderunder, beneath
2Proto-Germanicunderamong, between; under, beneath; under
3Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁entérbetween
4Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁enin; in, inside

Words derived from “underwrītan”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European wer- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European wēr- →Every word from Proto-Germanic wrītaną →