Where does “heilig” come from?
heilig (Alemannic German) comes from Middle High German hailig, from Old High German heilag, from Proto-West Germanic hailag, from Proto-Germanic hailagaz, from Proto-Germanic hailaz, from Proto-Indo-European *kéh₂ilos.
heilig (Alemannic German): holy
Ancestry of “heilig”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle High German | hailig | — |
| 2 | Old High German | heilag | holy |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | hailag | holy, sacred |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | hailagaz | holy, sacred |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | hailaz | whole, unbroken, intact; entire, complete; hale,... |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | *kéh₂ilos | — |