Where does “muggenzifter” come from?
muggenzifter (Dutch) comes from Dutch muggenziften, from Dutch mug, from Middle Dutch mugge, from Old Dutch mugga, from Proto-West Germanic muggjā, from Proto-Germanic mugjǭ, from Proto-Germanic mują, from Proto-Indo-European mū- — fly, mosquito; fly, midge; lips, muzzle.
muggenzifter (Dutch): nitpicker
Ancestry of “muggenzifter”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Dutch | muggenziften | to nitpick, to be fastidious |
| 2 | Dutch | mug | A mosquito, a gnat, any fly of the suborder... |
| 3 | Middle Dutch | mugge | — |
| 4 | Old Dutch | mugga | — |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | muggjā | — |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | mugjǭ | a small fly; midge; mosquito |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | mują | fly |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | mū- | fly, mosquito; fly, midge; lips, muzzle |