Etymology Explorer › Afrikaans

Where does “Switserland” come from?

Switserland (Afrikaans) comes from Dutch Zwitserland, from Dutch land, from Dutch landnaam, from Dutch naam, from Middle Dutch nāme, from Old Dutch namo, from Proto-West Germanic namō, from Proto-Germanic namô — to name.

Ancestry of “Switserland”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1DutchZwitserland—
2Dutchlandland; country; land
3DutchlandnaamUncommon form of landsnaam
4Dutchnaamname
5Middle Dutchnāme—
6Old Dutchnamoname
7Proto-West Germanicnamōname
8Proto-Germanicnamôname
9Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁nómn̥name
10Proto-Indo-Europeanh₃neh₃-to name
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₃neh₃- →