Where does “wat” come from?

wat (Dutch) comes from Middle Dutch wat, from Old Dutch wat, from Proto-West Germanic hwat, from Proto-Germanic hwat, from Proto-Indo-European kʷód, from Proto-Indo-European kʷós — who.

wat (Dutch): what: e.g. (1) asking for a subject complement; (2) asking for a sentence object

Definitions

  1. what: e.g. (1) asking for a subject complement; (2) asking for a sentence object

Ancestry of “wat”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Dutchwatwhat
2Old Dutchwatwhat
3Proto-West Germanichwatwhat
4Proto-Germanichwatnominative/accusative singular neuter of *hwaz
5Proto-Indo-Europeankʷódwhat
6Proto-Indo-Europeankʷóswho

Words derived from “wat”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European kʷós →