yearning

yearning · noun, verb

1. Proto-Indo-European*gʰer-“to yearn for”
2. Proto-Germanic*girnijaną
3. Proto-West Germanic*girnijan
4. Old Englishġierning
5. Middle Englishyerning
6. Englishyearning

From Middle English yerning, from Old English ġierning, ġierninge. Equivalent to the gerund (yearn + -ing). yearn comes from Proto-West Germanic *girnijan, from Proto-Germanic *girnijaną, from *gernaz (“eager, willing”) + *-janą, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰer- (“to yearn for”). By surface analysis, yearn + -ing.

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic

yearning · noun

1. Proto-Indo-European*h₃r̥-néw-ti
2. Proto-Germanic*rinnaną
3. Proto-Indo-European*ḱóm“with, by”
4. Proto-Germanic*ga-
5. Proto-West Germanic*ga-
6. Old Englishrynning
7. Middle Englishyernyng
8. Englishyearning

PIE word *ḱóm From earlier yerning, from Middle English yernyng, erning, renning. From Old English rynning and gerunnen, geurnen (“run together, coagulated, curdled”), past participles of gerinnan, geirnan, respectively. Influenced by Middle English yern (“to (cause to) coagulate or curdle”), Old English iernan (“to run, flow”), metathesized forms derived from the same origin. From verbal prefix ge- + rinnan (“to run”). First element is from Proto-West Germanic *ga-, from Proto-Germanic *ga-, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm (“with, by”); second element is from Proto-Germanic *rinnaną, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃r̥-néw-ti, from *h₃er- (“to move”). Doublet of rennet, run.

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic