Etymology Explorer › German

Where does “Ammenmärchen” come from?

Ammenmärchen (German) comes from German Märchen, from German Mär, from Middle High German mære, from Old High German māri, from Proto-Germanic mērijaz, from Proto-Indo-European mēros — large, handsome.

Ammenmärchen (German): old wives' tale

Definitions

  1. old wives' tale

Ancestry of “Ammenmärchen”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanMärchenfairy tale
2GermanMäran often repeated untruth, a fable, a false...
3Middle High Germanmærefamous
4Old High Germanmārifamous, great; well known, famous; news, tale
5Proto-Germanicmērijazrenowned, famous, great
6Proto-Indo-Europeanmēroslarge, handsome
Every word from Proto-Indo-European mēros →