Where does “gaffel” come from?
gaffel (Danish) comes from Middle Low German gaffel, from Old Saxon gafala, from Proto-West Germanic gabulu, from Gaulish gabalos, from Proto-Celtic gabalos, from Proto-Indo-European gʰabʰlos — fork, branch of tree.
gaffel (Danish): fork
Ancestry of “gaffel”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle Low German | gaffel | — |
| 2 | Old Saxon | gafala | — |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | gabulu | fork; pitchfork |
| 4 | Gaulish | gabalos | — |
| 5 | Proto-Celtic | gabalos | fork, forked branch |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | gʰabʰlos | fork, branch of tree |