Where does “ersatz” come from?
Ersatz comes from German Ersatz, meaning a substitute or replacement, derived from the past participle of ersetzen, to replace or compensate for.
ersatz (English): made in imitation; artificial, especially of a...
Definitions
- made in imitation; artificial, especially of a...
Ancestry of “ersatz”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | German | Ersatz | replacement, substitute; compensation |
| 2 | German | ersetzen | to replace, to substitute |
| 3 | Middle High German | ersetzen | — |
| 4 | Old High German | irsezzen | — |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | *uʀsattjan | — |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | *sattjan | — |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | satjaną | to set, to place down |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | sodéyeti | to set, to seat, to cause to sit |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -éyeti | Forms causative imperfective verbs from roots;... |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -yeti | Creates transitive imperfective verbs from roots |