Etymograph

English

eldning

Eldning comes from Old English ellnung ‘encouragement, comfort, consolation,…’, from ellen ‘strength’, and ultimately from Proto-Germanic *aljaną.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*aljaną1reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*alljan1‘zeal’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150ellen2‘strength’
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150elnian3‘to emulate, endeavor to be equal, be zealous, strive with zeal after another, make strong’
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150ellnung3‘encouragement, comfort, consolation, emulation, hot emulation, zeal, envy’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500elning3
  7. Englishtodayeldning3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Old English ellen
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Old English elnian
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English eldning

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*aljanąWiktionary, Old English ellenreconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*alljanWiktionary, Old English ellen‘zeal’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150ellenWiktionary, Old English elnian‘strength’
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150elnianWiktionary, English eldning‘to emulate, endeavor to be equal, be zealous, strive with zeal after another, make strong’
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150ellnungWiktionary, English eldning‘encouragement, comfort, consolation, emulation, hot emulation, zeal, envy’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500elningWiktionary, English eldning
  7. EnglishtodayeldningWiktionary, English eldning

Formed from elne + -ing

Proto-Germanic *aljaną

Proto-West Germanic *alljan ‘zeal’

Old English ellen ‘zeal, strength, power, vigor, valor, courage,…’

Middle English elne ‘power, strength, might’

English elne

Linked words

through Old English ellen ‘strength’

ellen, 3 more

Today it means

noun Envy; jealousy; suspicion.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “eldning”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Old English ellen, Old English elnian. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *aljaną / eldning

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