Etymology Explorer › Russian

Where does “молодёжь” come from?

молодёжь (Russian) comes from Old East Slavic молодежь, from Proto-Slavic moldežь, from Proto-Slavic moldъ, from Proto-Indo-European *ml̥dus, from Proto-Indo-European (s)meld- — to soften, to melt.

молодёжь (Russian): the young, youth, young people

Definitions

  1. the young, youth, young people

Ancestry of “молодёжь”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old East Slavicмолодежь—
2Proto-Slavicmoldežьyouth; young person
3Proto-Slavicmoldъyoung
4Proto-Indo-European*ml̥dus—
5Proto-Indo-European(s)meld-to soften, to melt
Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)meld- →