Etymology Explorer › German

Where does “Ersatz” come from?

Ersatz (German) comes from German ersetzen, from Middle High German ersetzen, from Old High German irsezzen, from Proto-Germanic *uʀsattjan, from Proto-Germanic *sattjan, from Proto-Germanic satjaną, from Proto-Indo-European sodéyeti, from Proto-Indo-European -éyeti — Creates transitive imperfective verbs from roots.

Ersatz (German): replacement, substitute; compensation

Definitions

  1. replacement, substitute; compensation

Ancestry of “Ersatz”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanersetzento replace, to substitute
2Middle High Germanersetzen—
3Old High Germanirsezzen—
4Proto-Germanic*uʀsattjan—
5Proto-Germanic*sattjan—
6Proto-Germanicsatjanąto set, to place down
7Proto-Indo-Europeansodéyetito set, to seat, to cause to sit
8Proto-Indo-European-éyetiForms causative imperfective verbs from roots;...
9Proto-Indo-European-yetiCreates transitive imperfective verbs from roots

Words derived from “Ersatz”

  • ersatz
  • ersatzism
  • ersatzist
  • ersatzer
  • ersatzness
  • ersatz
  • Ersatzmann
  • Ersatzfrau
  • Ersatzspieler
  • ersatzlos
  • Ersatzdehnung
  • Ersatzteil
  • Ersatzstoff
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -yeti →