Etymology Explorer › German Low German

Where does “Snake” come from?

Snake (German Low German) comes from Middle Low German snāke, from Old Saxon snako, from Proto-Germanic snakô, from Proto-Germanic snakaną, from Proto-Indo-European sneg- — to crawl, creeping thing.

Snake (German Low German): snake

Definitions

  1. snake

Ancestry of “Snake”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Low Germansnāke—
2Old Saxonsnako—
3Proto-Germanicsnakôsnake
4Proto-Germanicsnakanąto crawl
5Proto-Indo-Europeansneg-to crawl, creeping thing
Every word from Proto-Indo-European sneg- →