Etymology Explorer › Danish

Where does “fortælle” come from?

fortælle (Danish) comes from Middle Low German vörtellen, from Middle Low German tellen, from Old Saxon tellian, from Proto-West Germanic talljan, from Proto-Germanic taljaną, from Proto-Germanic talą, from Proto-Indo-European dol-, from Proto-Indo-European del- — to aim, calculate, adjust, count; to reckon,...

fortælle (Danish): To tell, to report; To narrate

Definitions

  1. To tell, to report; To narrate

Ancestry of “fortælle”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Low Germanvörtellen—
2Middle Low Germantellento count, to tell
3Old Saxontellianto count; to tell
4Proto-West Germanictalljanto count, to enumerate; to recount, to tell
5Proto-Germanictaljanąto enumerate, count; to account, recount, tell
6Proto-Germanictaląspeech; number
7Proto-Indo-Europeandol-reckoning, calculation, fraud; calculation, fraud
8Proto-Indo-Europeandel-to aim, calculate, adjust, count; to reckon,...

Words derived from “fortælle”

  • jegfortæller
  • fortæller
  • fortelja
Every word from Proto-Indo-European del- →