Where does “smearcase” come from?
smearcase (English) comes from Pennsylvania German Schmierkaes, from Pennsylvania German schmier, 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.
smearcase (English): Cottage cheese
Ancestry of “smearcase”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Pennsylvania German | Schmierkaes | cottage cheese, smear case |
| 2 | Pennsylvania German | schmier | — |
| 3 | Middle High German | smirn | — |
| 4 | Middle High German | smirwen | — |
| 5 | Old High German | smirwen | — |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | *smirwijan | — |
| 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 |