haunt

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*ḱóymos“village”
2. Proto-Germanic · derived from*haimaz“village, home”
3. Proto-Germanic · derived from*haimatjaną“to house, bring home”
4. Old English · derived fromhāmettan“to bring home; house; cohabit with”
5. Old Norse · derived fromheimta“to bring home, fetch”
6. Old Northern French · derived fromhanter“to go back home, frequent”
7. Old French · derived fromhanter“to inhabit, frequent, resort to”
8. Middle English · inherited fromhaunten“to reside, inhabit, use, employ”
9. English todayhaunt

From Middle English haunten (“to reside, inhabit, use, employ”), from Old French hanter (“to inhabit, frequent, resort to”), from Old Northern French hanter (“to go back home, frequent”), from Old Norse heimta (“to bring home, fetch”) or/and from Old English hāmettan (“to bring home; house; cohabit with”); both from Proto-Germanic *haimatjaną (“to house, bring home”), from Proto-Germanic *haimaz (“village, home”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱóymos (“village”). Cognate with Old English hǣman (“to cohabit, lie with, marry”); related to Old English hām (“home, village”), Old French hantin (“a stay, a place frequented by”) from the same Germanic source. Another descendant from the French is Dutch hanteren, whence German hantieren, Swedish hantera, Danish håndtere. More at home.

Words from the same roots