Where does “Fernsprecher” come from?
Fernsprecher (German) comes from German fern, from Middle High German verren, from Old High German ferrana, from Old High German ferro, from Proto-West Germanic *ferrō, from Proto-Germanic ferrai, from Proto-Indo-European per-nóy, from Proto-Indo-European per- — passed , crossed.
Fernsprecher (German): telephone
Ancestry of “Fernsprecher”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | German | fern | remote; far away |
| 2 | Middle High German | verren | — |
| 3 | Old High German | ferrana | from afar |
| 4 | Old High German | ferro | afar; skipper |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | *ferrō | — |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | ferrai | far, distant |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | per-nóy | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |