Where does “Wie” come from?
Wie (Dutch) comes from Middle Dutch wie, from Old Dutch wie, from Old Dutch wē, from Old Dutch hwē, from Proto-West Germanic hwaʀ, from Proto-Germanic hwaz, from Proto-Indo-European kʷos, from Proto-Indo-European kʷ- — The primary interrogative root.
Ancestry of “Wie”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle Dutch | wie | who |
| 2 | Old Dutch | wie | who |
| 3 | Old Dutch | wē | — |
| 4 | Old Dutch | hwē | — |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | hwaʀ | who |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | hwaz | who, what; whose; whom |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | kʷos | See *kʷis |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | kʷ- | The primary interrogative root |