English
threshing
Threshing comes from Middle English threschen ‘to thresh’, and perhaps goes back to Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- ‘to rub, turn’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*terh₁-1‘to rub, turn’uncertain
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*þreskaną2‘to thresh’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*þreskan2reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150þrescan2
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500threschen3‘to thresh’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500threschynge4as thresshyng
- Englishtodaythreshing4
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *þreskaną
- 2 Wiktionary, Middle English threschen
- 3 Wiktionary, Middle English threschynge
- 4 Wiktionary, English threshing
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*terh₁-Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *þreskaną‘to rub, turn’uncertain
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*þreskanąWiktionary, Middle English threschen‘to thresh’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*þreskanWiktionary, Middle English threschenreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150þrescanWiktionary, Middle English threschen
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500threschenWiktionary, Middle English threschynge‘to thresh’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500threschyngeWiktionary, English threshingas thresshyng
- EnglishtodaythreshingWiktionary, English threshing
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- ‘to rub, turn’
turn, tournament, throw, tragic, thread, trout, detrimental, tyrone, detriment, detour, attrition, tourney, triage, trite, termite, tribulation, detritus, tourniquet, truant, tyro, derma, 42 more
through Proto-Germanic *þreskaną ‘to thresh’
Today it means
verb The process by which something is threshed.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “threshing”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Germanic *þreskaną, Middle English threschen, Middle English threschynge. 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-Indo-European *terh₁- / threshing