Where does “list” come from?

list (Dutch) comes from Middle Dutch list, from Old Dutch list, from Proto-West Germanic *listi, from Proto-Germanic listiz, from Proto-Indo-European leys- — to trace, to track.

list (Dutch): a cunning plan, a ruse, a trick

Definitions

  1. a cunning plan, a ruse, a trick

Ancestry of “list”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Dutchlist—
2Old Dutchlistruse, trick
3Proto-West Germanic*listiart, craft
4Proto-Germaniclistizart, craft; cunning, guile
5Proto-Indo-Europeanleys-to trace, to track

Words derived from “list”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European leys- →Every word from Proto-Germanic listiz →Every word from Proto-West Germanic *listi →