Where does “tangle” come from?

Tangle comes from Danish tang, from Old Norse tǫng, from Proto-Germanic tangiz, from Proto-Indo-European denḱ-.

tangle (English): to become mixed together or intertwined; to enter...

Definitions

  1. to become mixed together or intertwined; to enter...

Ancestry of “tangle”, step by step

tangle traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Old Norse þang

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Norseþangtangle; seaweed
2Old Norseþongull—
3Proto-Germanicþanga—
4Proto-Indo-Europeantenk-to be solid, firm; to be suitable; to succeed,...

via Middle English tanglen

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishtanglen—

Words derived from “tangle”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European tenk- →Every word from Proto-Germanic þanga →Every word from Old Norse þongull →