Where does “Feuerwehrleute” come from?
Feuerwehrleute (German) comes from German Feuerwehr, from German Wehr, from Middle High German were, from Old High German werī, from Proto-Germanic warīniz, from Proto-Germanic -īniz, from Proto-Germanic -niz, from Proto-Indo-European -nis.
Feuerwehrleute (German): plural of Feuerwehrmann
Definitions
- plural of Feuerwehrmann
Ancestry of “Feuerwehrleute”, step by step
Feuerwehrleute traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via German Feuerwehr
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | German | Feuerwehr | fire brigade; fire department |
| 2 | German | Wehr | resistance; defence; also in the sense of... |
| 3 | Middle High German | were | — |
| 4 | Old High German | werī | — |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | warīniz | warding off, defense |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | -īniz | Forms abstract nouns from weak class 1 verbs |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | -niz | Forms abstract nouns from verbal roots and stems |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -nis | — |
via German leute
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | German | leute | people several individual persons, a group of people in general, esp. of one kind or another, folk (folks), peeps slang, guys (boys and/or girls) |
| 2 | Middle High German | liute | — |
| 3 | Old High German | liuti | people, subordinates |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | *liud(i) | — |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | liudīz | man, person |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁léwdʰis | people |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁lewdʰ- | to grow; people |