Where does “Knief” come from?
Knief (German Low German) comes from Middle Low German knîf, from Old Saxon knīf, from Proto-Germanic knībaz, from Proto-Germanic knīpaną, from Proto-Indo-European ǵneybʰ-.
Knief (German Low German): knife
Ancestry of “Knief”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle Low German | knîf | — |
| 2 | Old Saxon | knīf | — |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | knībaz | pincers; shears; knife |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | knīpaną | to pinch |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵneybʰ- | — |