Where does “john” come from?

john (Central Franconian) comes from Old High German gān, from Proto-West Germanic gān, from Proto-Germanic gāną, from Proto-Indo-European ǵʰengʰ- — to walk; to step.

john (Central Franconian): to go

Definitions

  1. to go

Ancestry of “john”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old High Germangānto go
2Proto-West Germanicgānto go
3Proto-Germanicgānąto go, walk
4Proto-Indo-Europeanǵʰengʰ-to walk; to step
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ǵʰengʰ- →Every word from Proto-Germanic gāną →Every word from Proto-West Germanic gān →