Where does “Besserwisser” come from?
Besserwisser (German) comes from German besser, from Middle High German beȥȥer, from Old High German beȥȥiro, from Proto-West Germanic *batiʀō, from Proto-Germanic batizô, from Proto-Germanic gōdaz, from Proto-Germanic gadaną, from Proto-Indo-European gʰedʰ- — to join; to unite; to suit.
Besserwisser (German): know-it-all, wiseguy, wiseacre, smart aleck
Definitions
- know-it-all, wiseguy, wiseacre, smart aleck
Ancestry of “Besserwisser”, step by step
Besserwisser traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via German besser
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | German | besser | comparative degree of gut; better; inflection of... |
| 2 | Middle High German | beȥȥer | — |
| 3 | Old High German | beȥȥiro | better |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | *batiʀō | better |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | batizô | comparative degree of *gōdaz; comparative degree... |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | gōdaz | good |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | gadaną | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | gʰedʰ- | to join; to unite; to suit |
via German wissen
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | German | wissen | to know; to be aware of; to remember |
| 2 | Middle High German | wiȥȥen | to know |
| 3 | Old High German | wiȥȥan | to know |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | wītan | to accuse, to blame |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | *witaną | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | wóyde | to have seen, to know |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | weyd- | to see |
via German Wisser
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | German | Wisser | knower |