Where does “čech” come from?

čech (Czech) comes from Old Czech Čech, from Proto-Slavic čelověkъ, from Proto-Indo-European (s)kʷel-, from Proto-Indo-European kʷel- — to turn.

Ancestry of “čech”, step by step

čech traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Old Czech Čech

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old CzechČechCzech person
2Proto-Slavicčelověkъman, human
3Proto-Indo-European(s)kʷel-crowd, people
4Proto-Indo-Europeankʷel-to turn

via Middle High German zëch

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle High Germanzëch—

Words derived from “čech”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European kʷel- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)kʷel- →Every word from Proto-Slavic čelověkъ →