Etymograph

English

lie

Lie comes from Middle English lien ‘to lie’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *legʰ-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*legʰ-‘to lie’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*ligjaną‘to lie’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*liggjan‘to lie’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150liċġan‘to lie’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500lien‘to lie’
  6. Englishearliest quotation c. 1607–1608lie

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*legʰ-‘to lie’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*ligjaną‘to lie’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*liggjan‘to lie’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150liċġan‘to lie’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500lien‘to lie’
  6. Englishearliest quotation c. 1607–1608lie

Earliest quotation: c. 1607–1608, William Shakespeare, The Late: “The Wind is lowd, and will not lie till…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- ‘to lie’

law, college, legal, fellow, lawyer, layer, legacy, loyal, colleague, delegation, delegate, lex, collegiate, ledge, litter, lawless, lair, lees, legate, leaguer, leal, collegium, underlay, lagan, lias, 22 more

through Proto-Germanic *ligjaną ‘to lie, to rest’

low, lay, log, 1 more

through Old English liċġan ‘to lie’

ledger, lig

Another origin of lie

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lewgʰ-‘to announce, tell publicly’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*leuganą‘to lie’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*leugan‘to lie, tell a falsehood’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150lēogan‘to lie’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500lien‘to lie, tell a falsehood’
  6. Englishtodaylie

Another origin of lie

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lewgʰ-‘to announce, tell publicly’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*lugizreconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*lugireconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150lyġe
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500lie
  6. Englishtodaysame form

Today it means

verb To rest in a horizontal position on a surface.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- / lie

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