Where does “van der Merwe” come from?

van der Merwe (Afrikaans) comes from Dutch van der Merwe, from Dutch van, from Middle Dutch van, from Old Dutch fān, from Old Saxon fāhan, from Proto-Germanic fanhaną, from Proto-Indo-European peh₂ḱ- — to join, to attach; agreement, settlement.

Ancestry of “van der Merwe”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Dutchvan der Merwe—
2Dutchvanof; by, of; from
3Middle Dutchvanof; from; out of
4Old Dutchfānoff, from
5Old Saxonfāhanto seize
6Proto-Germanicfanhanąto take, to seize; to capture, to catch
7Proto-Indo-Europeanpeh₂ḱ-to join, to attach; agreement, settlement
Every word from Proto-Indo-European peh₂ḱ- →Every word from Proto-Germanic fanhaną →Every word from Old Saxon fāhan →