English
soaking
Soaking comes from Middle English souken ‘to suck out liquid or fluid’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *su-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*su-reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*sug-reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*sūkaną‘to suck’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*sūkan‘to suck’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150sūcan‘to suck’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500souken‘to suck out liquid or fluid’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500soukynge
- Englishearliest quotation 1847soaking
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*su-reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*sug-reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*sūkaną‘to suck’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*sūkan‘to suck’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150sūcan‘to suck’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500souken‘to suck out liquid or fluid’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500soukynge
- Englishearliest quotation 1847soaking
Earliest quotation: 1847, Charlotte Bronte: “I shuddered as I stood and looked round me:…”
Equivalent to soak + -ing
Proto-Indo-European *su-
…
Proto-Germanic *sūkaną ‘to suck’
Proto-Germanic *sukōną ‘to soak’
Old English socian ‘to soak, steep’
Middle English soken
English soak
first attested First attested in c. 1440 (as stated in the etymology)
The story
First attested in c. 1440 in the Promptorium parvulorum.
Linked words
through Old English sūcan ‘to suck’
sucker, honeysuckle, sook, 1 more
through Middle English souken ‘to suck out liquid or fluid’
Today it means
verb Immersion in water; a drenching or dunking.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *su- / soaking