Where does “windhandel” come from?

windhandel (Dutch) comes from Dutch handel, from Dutch handelen, from English handle, from Middle English handel, from Old English handle, from Old English handlian, from Proto-West Germanic handulōn, from Proto-Germanic handlōną — hand.

windhandel (Dutch): speculative trade; literally "trade in wind"

Definitions

  1. speculative trade; literally "trade in wind"

Ancestry of “windhandel”, step by step

windhandel traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Dutch handel

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Dutchhandeltrade; business, company; shop, store
2Dutchhandelento trade, do business; to act
3EnglishhandleThe part of an object which is held in the hand...
4Middle Englishhandel
5Old Englishhandlea handle
6Old Englishhandlianto handle
7Proto-West Germanichandulōnto handle
8Proto-Germanichandlōnąto take or hold in the hand, seize, grip
9Proto-Germanichanduzhand

via Dutch wind

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Dutchwindwind; flatulence, fart; greyhound
2Middle Dutchwintwind; cardinal direction; air
3Old Dutchwint
4Proto-West Germanicwindwind
5Proto-Germanicwindazwind
6Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂wéh₁n̥tsblowing; that which blows; the wind, air
7Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂wḗh₁tito blow
8Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂weh₁-to blow
Every word from Proto-Germanic handuz
windhandel — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer