Where does “Aachen” come from?
Aachen (German) comes from Middle High German Āchen, from Old High German Āhha, from Proto-Germanic *Ākā, from Latin aqua, from Proto-Italic akʷā, from Proto-Indo-European h₂ekʷeh₂ — water, flowing water.
Ancestry of “Aachen”, step by step
Aachen traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle High German Āchen
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle High German | Āchen | — |
| 2 | Old High German | Āhha | — |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | *Ākā | — |
| 4 | Latin | aqua | water |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | akʷā | water |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂ekʷeh₂ | water, flowing water |
via Latin aquae
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latin | aquae | nominative plural of aqua; genitive singular of... |