rotten etymology

English word rotten comes from Proto-Indo-European *rewd-, Proto-Indo-European *Hrewd-, and later Proto-Germanic *rutjaną (To rot.)

Detailed word origin of rotten

Dictionary entryLanguageDefinition
*rewd- Proto-Indo-European (ine-pro)
*Hrewd- Proto-Indo-European (ine-pro)
*rutjaną Proto-Germanic (gem-pro) To rot.
*rutōną Proto-Germanic (gem-pro) To rot.
rotinn Old Norse (non)
rotian Old English (ca. 450-1100) (ang)
roten Middle English (1100-1500) (enm)
rotten English (eng) To an extreme degree. Bad or terrible.. Cruel, mean or immoral.. In a state of decay.. Of perishable items, overridden with bacteria and other infectious agents.

Words with the same origin as rotten

Descendants of *rewd-
rot