English

uphold

Uphold comes from Middle English upholden ‘to hold up’, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *haldaną ‘to watch, look after’.

Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*haldaną‘to watch, look after’reconstructed
Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*haldan‘to hold’reconstructed
Old Englishc. 450–1150healdan‘to hold fast, to grasp’
Middle Englishc. 1150–1500holden‘to hold’
Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500upholden‘to hold up’
Englishearliest quotation 1623uphold

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Earlier history uncertain.

Lineage

Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*haldaną‘to watch, look after’reconstructed
Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*haldan‘to hold’reconstructed
Old Englishc. 450–1150healdan‘to hold fast, to grasp’
Middle Englishc. 1150–1500holden‘to hold’
Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500upholden‘to hold up’
Englishearliest quotation 1623uphold

Earliest quotation: 1623, William Shakespeare, The Life and Death of King John: “That misbegotten devil, Falconbridge, /In spite of spite, alone…”

Formed from up- + hold

Old English ūp ‘up, from above’

English up-

Proto-Germanic *haldaną ‘to tend, herd’

Proto-West Germanic *haldan

Old English healdan

Middle English holden ‘to hold’

English hold

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- ‘to hide, conceal’

hell, cell, hall, color, ceiling, hole, hull, helmet, helm, conceal, hollow, occult, clandestine, sari, sala, cilia, recline, declination, declension, haugh, tricolour, seel, halberd, hele, holing, 36 more

through Proto-West Germanic *haldan ‘to hold’

through Old English healdan ‘to hold fast, to grasp’

beholden, 4 more

through Middle English holden ‘to hold’

holder, holden, 4 more

Today it means

verb To hold up; to lift on high; to elevate.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *haldaną / uphold

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