German words from Old High German
623 German words with Old High German in their history, whether borrowed directly or passed on through other languages.
ab
It is inherited from Middle High German abe, inherited from Old High German aba, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *ab, inherited from Proto-Germanic *ab (“away from, off”). The final vowel of the…
Abend
It is inherited from Middle High German ābent, inherited from Old High German āband, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *ābanþ, inherited from Proto-Germanic *ēbanþs (“evening”). The same word is…
aber
It is inherited from Middle High German aber, inherited from Old High German avur, inherited from Proto-Germanic *aferą (“behind, later”). The Old High German forms in ⟨-ar⟩, such as afar, and those…
acht
It is inherited from Middle High German aht, inherited from Old High German ahto, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *ahtō, inherited from Proto-Germanic *ahtōu (“eight”). The number is found in…
ähnlich
It is inherited from Middle High German anelich (also enlich), inherited from Old High German *analīh, found only in derivatives such as analīhhī (“likeness”), beside anagilīh (“similar, equal”)…
all
It is inherited from Middle High German al, inherited from Old High German al, inherited from Proto-Germanic *allaz (“all, whole”). The same word is Old Saxon al, Old English eall, Old Norse allr…
als
It is inherited from Middle High German als, a weakened form of one syllable from alse, inherited from Old High German alsō (“just so”); the full form survives as also. The Old High German word is…
also
It is inherited from Middle High German alsō, from Old High German al (“entirely”) + sō (“so”), so that it first meant “entirely so, just so”. It continues Proto-West Germanic *allswā. The same…
alt
It is inherited from Middle High German alt, inherited from Old High German alt, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *ald, inherited from Proto-Germanic *aldaz (“grown up, old”). The same word is Old…
Alter
It is inherited from Middle High German alter, inherited from Old High German altar, inherited from Proto-Germanic *aldrą (“life, lifetime, age”). The same word is Old Saxon aldar, Old English…
Amt
It is inherited from Middle High German ambahte, inherited from Old High German ambahti (“service, office”), inherited from Proto-Germanic *ambahtiją (“service”). The same word is Old Saxon ambaht…
an
It is inherited from Middle High German ane, inherited from Old High German ana, inherited from Proto-Germanic *ana. The same word is Gothic 𐌰𐌽𐌰 (ana), Old Norse á, Old English on, Old Frisian on…
anders
It is inherited from Middle High German anders, inherited from Old High German anderes, originally the genitive singular neuter of the adjective anderer, used as an adverb. The same formation is Old…
Anfang
It is inherited from Middle High German anevanc, inherited from Old High German anafang, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *anafangi (“grasp, embrace”). The noun belongs to the verb anfangen, Old…
Angriff
It is inherited from Middle High German anegrif, inherited from Old High German anagrif (“touch, embrace”), inherited from Proto-West Germanic *anagripi (“seizure”), formed from an and the noun…
Angst
It is inherited from Middle High German angest, inherited from Old High German angust, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *angusti-. The word is limited to German, Dutch and Frisian: Middle Low…
Ansicht
It is inherited from Middle High German anesiht, inherited from Old High German anasiht, a compound from Old High German ana (“on, at”) + siht (“sight”), parallel to the verb ansehen. The noun…
Antwort
It is inherited from Middle High German antwürte, inherited from Old High German antwurti, inherited from Proto-Germanic *andawurdiją (“answer, counter-word”). It is a collective formation from the…
April
It is inherited from Middle High German aberelle, inherited from Old High German abrello, borrowed from Latin Aprīlis (“April”). The borrowing replaced the native Old High German ōstarmānōd (“Easter…
Arbeit
It is inherited from Middle High German arebeit, inherited from Old High German arabeit, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *arbaiþi, inherited from Proto-Germanic *arbaidiz (“toil, hardship”). The…
arbeiten
It is inherited from Middle High German arbeiten, inherited from Old High German arbeiten, inherited from Proto-Germanic *arbaidijaną, a verb formed from the noun Arbeit. The same verb is Gothic…
Arzt
It is inherited from Middle High German arzât, inherited from Old High German arzāt, borrowed from Medieval Latin archiater (“chief physician”), borrowed in pre-literary times. Pfeifer gives the…
auch
It is inherited from Middle High German ouch, inherited from Old High German ouh, inherited from Proto-Germanic *auk. The same particle is Gothic 𐌰𐌿𐌺 (auk, “for, but, also”), Old Norse auk, Old…
auf
It is inherited from Middle High German ūf, inherited from Old High German ūf, inherited from Proto-Germanic *upp. The same word is Old Saxon up, Old English up, Old Frisian up and Old Norse upp…
Auge
It is inherited from Middle High German ouge, inherited from Old High German ouga, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *augā, inherited from Proto-Germanic *augô (“eye”). The same word is Gothic 𐌰𐌿𐌲𐍉…
aus
It is inherited from Middle High German ūz, inherited from Old High German ūz, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *ūt, inherited from Proto-Germanic *ūt (“out”). The same word is Gothic 𐌿𐍄 (ut), Old…
außer
It is inherited from Middle High German ūzer, inherited from Old High German ūzar, inherited from Proto-Germanic *ūtar (“outside, out of”). The same word is Old Saxon ūtar, Old Norse útar, Old…
Bad
It is inherited from Middle High German bat, inherited from Old High German bad, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *baþ, inherited from Proto-Germanic *baþą (“bath”). The same word is Old Saxon…
bald
It is inherited from Middle High German balde, inherited from Old High German baldo, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *balþ, inherited from Proto-Germanic *balþaz (“bold, strong”): an adverb of…
Ball
1. The round object is inherited from Middle High German bal, inherited from Old High German bal, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *ballu, inherited from Proto-Germanic *balluz. The same word is…
Bau
It is inherited from Middle High German bū, inherited from Old High German bū (“dwelling”), inherited from Proto-Germanic *būą (“building, dwelling”). The same noun is Old Saxon bū, Old English bū…
bauen
It is inherited from Middle High German būwen, inherited from Old High German būan (also būwan), inherited from Proto-West Germanic *būan, inherited from Proto-Germanic *būaną (“to dwell”). The same…
Bauer
1. The birdcage is inherited from Middle High German būr, inherited from Old High German būr (“house, chamber”), inherited from Proto-Germanic *būrą (“dwelling, chamber”). The same word is Old Saxon…
Baum
It is inherited from Middle High German boum, inherited from Old High German boum, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *baum (“tree, beam”). It took the place of the old word for “tree” that survives…
bedeuten
It is inherited from Middle High German bediuten, inherited from Old High German bidiuten (“to express, signify”), formed from German be- + deuten. The same formation is Middle Low German bedǖden…
befinden
It is inherited from Middle High German bevinden, inherited from Old High German bifindan, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *bifinþan, a prefixed form from German be- + finden. The same verb is…
beginnen
It is inherited from Middle High German beginnen, inherited from Old High German biginnan, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *biginnan, inherited from Proto-Germanic *biginnaną (“to begin”), formed…
begrüßen
It is inherited from Middle High German begrüezen, inherited from Old High German bigruozen (“to greet, address”), formed from Old High German bi- + gruozen, the prefix be- added to grüßen…
bei
It is inherited from Middle High German bī, inherited from Old High German bī, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *bī, inherited from Proto-Germanic *bi. The same word is Gothic 𐌱𐌹 (bi, “around…
beide
It is inherited from Middle High German beide, inherited from Old High German beide, from a group of Proto-Germanic *bai (“both”) and the demonstrative pronoun that became the definite article. Old…
Beispiel
It is inherited from Middle High German bīspel (“instructive story, parable, proverb”), inherited from Old High German bīspel, a compound from Old High German bī + spel (“story, speech”). The same…
bekommen
It is inherited from Middle High German bekomen, inherited from Old High German biqueman, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *bikweman, inherited from Proto-Germanic *bikwemaną (“to come near, come…
belegen
It is inherited from Middle High German belegen, inherited from Old High German bileggen (“to cover, surround”), formed from Old High German bi- + leggen (“to lay”). The base verb is the causative…
bereit
It is inherited from Middle High German bereite, inherited from Old High German bireiti (“equipped, ready”), a formation with the prefix be- found only in German and Dutch. Beside it stand the…
Berg
It is inherited from Middle High German berc, inherited from Old High German berg, inherited from Proto-Germanic *bergaz (“mountain”). The same word is Old Saxon berg, Old Frisian berch, Old English…
berichten
It is inherited from Middle High German berihten, inherited from Old High German birihten (“to make right, improve”), formed from richten with the prefix be-. It first meant “to make right…
beschließen
It is inherited from Middle High German besliezen, inherited from Old High German bisliozan (“to shut, enclose, conclude”), inherited from Proto-West Germanic *bisleutan, made of the prefix be- and…
besetzen
It is inherited from Middle High German besetzen, inherited from Old High German bisezzen, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *bisattjan, inherited from Proto-Germanic *bisatjaną (“to set around; to…
besitzen
It is inherited from Middle High German besitzen, inherited from Old High German bisizzen, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *bisittjan (“to sit by, near”), inherited from Proto-Germanic…
bestehen
It is inherited from Middle High German bestān, inherited from Old High German bistān, formed from Old High German bi- + stān, the Old High German form of stehen. Wiktionary sets up Proto-Germanic…
Besuch
It is inherited from Middle High German besuoch, inherited from Old High German bisuoh (“temptation”), the noun of the verb besuchen. The Duden dictionary instead treats the modern noun as a…
besuchen
It is inherited from Middle High German besuochen, inherited from Old High German bisuohhen (“to examine, try, inquire”), inherited from Proto-West Germanic *bisōkijan, formed from German be- +…
bevor
It is inherited from Middle High German bevor, inherited from Old High German bifora (“before, earlier”), an adverb run together from bī (“by, at”) and fora (“before, earlier”), that is bei and vor…
bewegen
1. The verb meaning “induce” is inherited from Middle High German bewëgen, formed from Old High German bi- + wegan (“to weigh, move”). The simple verb continues Proto-Germanic *weganą (“to move…
Bewegung
It is inherited from Middle High German bewegunge, inherited from Old High German biwegunga (“motion”), formed from German bewegen + -ung. The verb bewegen mixes a strong and a weak prefixed verb…
bezeichnen
It is inherited from Middle High German bezeichenen, inherited from Old High German bizeihhanen (also bizeihhanōn), a prefixed form of Old High German zeihhanen (“to mark, show”) (modern zeichnen)…
beziehen
It is inherited from Middle High German beziehen, inherited from Old High German biziohan (“to tie up, cover over, take away”), inherited from Proto-West Germanic *biteuhan, a prefixed form of…
Beziehung
It is formed from German beziehen + -ung. Kluge connects it with the sense of beziehen that is most important today, “to draw together, make a connection”. The verb is inherited from Middle High…
bieten
It is inherited from Middle High German bieten, inherited from Old High German biotan, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *beudan, inherited from Proto-Germanic *beudaną (“to offer, bid”). The same…
Bild
It is inherited from Middle High German bilde, inherited from Old High German bilidi, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *biliþi. Early Upper German also had biladi and bilodi; the form with -idi…