Where does “Binnen-I” come from?

Binnen-I (German) comes from German binnen, from Middle Low German binnen, from Proto-Germanic bi-, from Proto-Germanic bi, from Proto-Indo-European h₂m̥bʰi, from Proto-Indo-European h₂n̥tbʰi, from Proto-Indo-European h₂énts, from Proto-Indo-European h₂ent- — on, onto.

Binnen-I (German): word-internal capital I inserted to mark a word as gender-neutral

Definitions

  1. word-internal capital I inserted to mark a word as gender-neutral

Ancestry of “Binnen-I”, step by step

Binnen-I traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via German binnen

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanbinnenwithin
2Middle Low Germanbinnenwithin
3Proto-Germanicbi-by, at
4Proto-Germanicbiby, at; near, around
5Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂m̥bʰiaround, on either side of, about; in exchange...
6Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂n̥tbʰi—
7Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂éntsforehead; front
8Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂ent-face; forehead; front
9Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂en-on, onto

via German I

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanI—
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂en- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂ent- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂énts →