German etymology in numbers

Borrowed, inherited or formed

Each entry counted once: as borrowed if its etymology names a language it was taken from, else as inherited, else as formed within German.

• Borrowed 20% · 229 taken from another language
• Inherited 63% · 716 passed down from an ancestor of German
• Formed in German 13% · 151 compounds and derivatives of its own words
• Not traced yet 4% · 44 no etymology links yet

Ultimate origins by language family

Where the 949 traced words end up when their etymologies are followed back as far as they go, from entry to entry, grouped into families and the branches of Indo-European.

1. Germanic 747 · 79% Proto-Germanic 433 · Old High German 152 · Middle High German 131 · Middle Low German 13 …
2. Italic 146 · 15% Latin 91 · French 26 · Old French 15 · Proto-Italic 6 …
3. Hellenic 26 · 3% Ancient Greek 24 · Proto-Hellenic 2
4. Indo-European 24 · 3% Proto-Indo-European 24
5. Balto-Slavic 1 · 0% Polish 1
6. Unclassified 5 · 1% Anglo-Norman 2 · Etruscan 1 · Frankish 1 · Pre-Greek 1

When the words arrived

The 1,105 entries with a first-attestation date, by century and by the language each was borrowed from.

• Latin
• French
• English
• Middle Low German
• Italian
• Other borrowings
• Inherited or formed
• Not traced

Words other languages took from German

65 entries of other languages in this dictionary were borrowed from German or its earlier stages.

1. English 46 mole, bum, zinc, halt
2. Dutch 6 heer, niet, zich, herinneren
3. French 6 saisir, taxi, vampire, flic
4. Latin 4 bastum, fredum, balla, brunus
5. Italian 2 quanto, birra
6. Hungarian 1 pár

Most prolific roots

The words that the most German entries go back to, at the far end of their etymologies.

1. 3 Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵ-e/o- → Regel, direkt, Region
2. 3 Ancient Greek πολιτικός → Politik, politisch, Politiker
3. 2 Proto-Germanic *ek → ich, Ich
4. 2 Proto-Germanic *fulgāną → folgen, zufolge
5. 2 Proto-Germanic *mann- → Mann, man
6. 2 Proto-Germanic *mēlą → Mal, mal
7. 2 Proto-Indo-European *pu-n(e)-g- → Punkt, bunt
8. 2 Proto-Germanic *þan → denn, dann
9. 2 Old English styrtan → starten, Start
10. 1 Proto-Germanic *ab → ab
11. 1 Proto-Germanic *aferą → aber
12. 1 Proto-Germanic *ahtōu → acht
13. 1 Proto-Germanic *aiganaz → eigen
14. 1 Proto-Germanic *ainag → einige
15. 1 Proto-Germanic *ainalif → elf

Longest journeys

The German words whose etymologies pass through the most languages, followed from entry to entry.

1. Ball 6 languages

   Middle High German bal ← Old High German bal ← Proto-Germanic *ballu ← Proto-Germanic *balluz ← French bal ← Latin ballo ← Ancient Greek βαλλίζω

2. Tisch 6 languages

   Middle High German tisch ← Old High German tisc ← Proto-Germanic *disk ← Latin discus ← Ancient Greek δίσκος ← Pre-Greek

3. schreiben 6 languages

   Middle High German schrīben ← Old High German scrīban ← Proto-Germanic *skrīban ← Latin scribo ← Proto-Italic *skreif-e/o- ← Proto-Indo-European *skreybʰ-

4. Straße 5 languages

   Middle High German strāze ← Old High German strāza ← Latin strata ← Latin sterno ← Proto-Italic *sterna- ← Proto-Indo-European *st(e)r-n-h₃-

5. Chor 5 languages

   Middle High German kōr ← Old High German chōr ← Latin chorus ← Ancient Greek χορός ← Proto-Hellenic *kʰorós

6. Fan 5 languages

   English fan ← Middle English fanne ← Old English fann ← Latin vannus ← Proto-Italic *watnos

7. Karriere 5 languages

   French carrière ← Old French quarriere ← Latin *quadraria ← Italian carriera ← Occitan carreira

8. Natur 5 languages

   Middle High German natūre ← Old High German natūra ← Latin natura ← Proto-Italic *gnāsk-e/o- ← Proto-Indo-European *ǵn̥h₁-sk-e/o-

9. Punkt 5 languages

   Middle High German punct ← Old High German puncto ← Latin punctus ← Proto-Italic *pung- ← Proto-Indo-European *pu-n(e)-g-

10. Regel 5 languages

    Middle High German regel ← Old High German regula ← Latin regula ← Proto-Italic *reg-e/o- ← Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵ-e/o-