Where does “Augenwischerei” come from?

Augenwischerei (German) comes from German wischen, from Middle High German wischen, from Old High German wisken, from Proto-Germanic wiskijaną, from Proto-Germanic -janą, from Proto-Indo-European -yéti, from Proto-Indo-European yé-, from Chichewa iye — he, she.

Augenwischerei (German): eyewash, window dressing something creating a deceptively favourable impression; something for appearance only

Definitions

  1. eyewash, window dressing something creating a deceptively favourable impression; something for appearance only

Ancestry of “Augenwischerei”, step by step

Augenwischerei traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via German wischen

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanwischento wipe; to sweep
2Middle High Germanwischen
3Old High Germanwisken
4Proto-Germanicwiskijanąto sweep; to sweep away, to clean; to erase
5Proto-Germanic-janąDerives denominatives from nouns and factitives...
6Proto-Indo-European-yétiCreates intransitive, often deponent,...
7Proto-Indo-Europeanyé-
8Chichewaiyehe, she

via German Augen

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanAugenplural of Auge; eyes
2Middle Low Germanö̂gen
Every word from Chichewa iye