hover

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European · inherited from*keh₂p-“to hold, seize”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*habjaną“to lift; to heave”
3. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*habbjan
4. Old English · inherited from*hōfian
5. Middle English · inherited fromhoveren“to float in the air, hover; to stay”
6. English todayhover

The verb is derived from Middle English hoveren (“to float in the air, hover; to stay”), probably from hoven (“hover; of a bird: to fly high in the air, soar”) (which it displaced) + -er- (frequentative suffix). Hoven is probably derived from Old English *hōfian, from hōfon, the plural past indicative form of hebban (“to lift, raise”), from Proto-West Germanic *habbjan, from Proto-Germanic *habjaną (“to lift; to heave”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *keh₂p- (“to hold, seize”). The English word is analysable as hove (“(obsolete) to remain suspended, float, hover; to linger, wait”) + -er (frequentative suffix). The noun is derived from the verb.

Words from the same roots