Where does “wat” come from?

wat (Afrikaans) comes from Dutch wat, from Middle Dutch wat, from Old Dutch wat, from Proto-West Germanic hwat, from Proto-Germanic hwat, from Proto-Indo-European kʷód, from Proto-Indo-European kʷós — who.

wat (Afrikaans): what; which; that

Definitions

  1. what; which; that

Ancestry of “wat”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Dutchwatwhat: e.g. (1) asking for a subject complement; (2) asking for a sentence object
2Middle Dutchwatwhat
3Old Dutchwatwhat
4Proto-West Germanichwatwhat
5Proto-Germanichwatnominative/accusative singular neuter of *hwaz
6Proto-Indo-Europeankʷódwhat
7Proto-Indo-Europeankʷóswho
Every word from Proto-Indo-European kʷós →Every word from Proto-Indo-European kʷód →Every word from Proto-Germanic hwat →