Where does “Zaanstad” come from?

Zaanstad (Dutch) comes from Dutch zaan, from Middle Dutch saen, from Old Dutch sān, from Proto-West Germanic sān(ō), from Proto-Germanic sēna, from Proto-Germanic *sa, from Proto-Austronesian *əsa, from Proto-Oceanic *isa.

Ancestry of “Zaanstad”, step by step

Zaanstad traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Dutch zaan

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Dutchzaansoon; cream
2Middle Dutchsaenquickly, soon; immediately, right away; suddenly,...
3Old Dutchsān—
4Proto-West Germanicsān(ō)immediately
5Proto-Germanicsēna—
6Proto-Germanic*sa—
7Proto-Austronesian*əsa—
8Proto-Oceanic*isa—

via Dutch stad

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Dutchstadcity, town; the town/city centre
2Middle Dutchstatplace; position, station; rank, status
3Old Dutchstada site, place, location, standing
4Proto-Germanicstadizplace, location
5Proto-Indo-Europeanstéh₂tisstanding, position
6Proto-Indo-European*steh₂-—

Words derived from “Zaanstad”

Every word from Proto-Oceanic *isa →Every word from Proto-Austronesian *əsa →Every word from Proto-Germanic *sa →