Where does “Ballerspiel” come from?

Ballerspiel (German) comes from German spiel, from Middle High German spil, from Old High German spil, from Proto-West Germanic spil — dance; game, exercise.

Ballerspiel (German): shooter, shoot 'em up

Definitions

  1. shooter, shoot 'em up

Ancestry of “Ballerspiel”, step by step

Ballerspiel traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via German spiel

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanspiela game instance or way of playing
2Middle High Germanspil—
3Old High Germanspil—
4Proto-West Germanicspildance; game, exercise

via German ballern

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanballernto bang; to shoot, "particularly:" to be...
2Middle High Germanbollern—
3Middle Low Germanbalderen—
Every word from Proto-West Germanic spil →Every word from Old High German spil →Every word from Middle High German spil →