Where does “Bösewicht” come from?
Bösewicht (German) comes from German wicht, from Middle Low German wicht, from Old Saxon wiht, from Proto-West Germanic wihti, from Proto-Germanic wihtiz, from Proto-Indo-European weǵʰ- — to bring; to transport.
Bösewicht (German): villain
Ancestry of “Bösewicht”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | German | wicht | second-person plural preterite of weichen |
| 2 | Middle Low German | wicht | — |
| 3 | Old Saxon | wiht | creature, person, thing, being |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | wihti | thing, creature; weight |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | wihtiz | essence, being; thing, creature; weight |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | weǵʰ- | to bring; to transport |