Where does “Baseballspiel” come from?

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

Baseballspiel (German): baseball game

Definitions

  1. baseball game

Ancestry of “Baseballspiel”, step by step

Baseballspiel 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 Baseball

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanBaseballbaseball ballgame
Every word from Proto-West Germanic spil →Every word from Old High German spil →Every word from Middle High German spil →