Where does “smeergeld” come from?
smeergeld (Dutch) comes from German Schmiergeld, from German schmieren, from Middle High German smirn, from Middle High German smirwen, from Old High German smirwen, from Proto-West Germanic *smirwijan, from Proto-Germanic smirwijaną, from Proto-Germanic -janą — he, she.
smeergeld (Dutch): graft, bribe
Definitions
- graft, bribe
Ancestry of “smeergeld”, step by step
smeergeld traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via German Schmiergeld
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | German | Schmiergeld | lubrication payment, bribe |
| 2 | German | schmieren | to smear; to butter; to grease, oil, lubricate |
| 3 | Middle High German | smirn | — |
| 4 | Middle High German | smirwen | — |
| 5 | Old High German | smirwen | — |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | *smirwijan | to smear |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | smirwijaną | to smear, anoint |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | -janą | Derives denominatives from nouns and factitives... |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -yéti | Creates intransitive, often deponent,... |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | yé- | — |
| 11 | Chichewa | iye | he, she |