Where does “потихонечку” come from?
потихонечку (Russian) comes from Russian потихо́ньку, from Russian ПО, from Old East Slavic по, from Proto-Slavic po, from Proto-Indo-European h₂pó, from Proto-Indo-European h₂epo — from, off, back; off, away; off, from.
потихонечку (Russian): silently, quietly; slowly; gently; OK; so-so
Definitions
- silently, quietly; slowly; gently; OK; so-so
Ancestry of “потихонечку”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Russian | потихо́ньку | OK, so-so (in answer to the question, "как дела?" ("How are you?"), the response "потихоньку"—"OK" or "I'm getting along okay"—implies that things could be better and could be worse) |
| 2 | Russian | ПО | software |
| 3 | Old East Slavic | по | on, along, by |
| 4 | Proto-Slavic | po | after; by; at |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂pó | off, away |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂epo | from, off, back; off, away; off, from |