Where does “Gemeinwesen” come from?
Gemeinwesen (German) comes from German gemein, from Middle High German gemein, from Old High German gimeinī, from Proto-West Germanic gamainī, from Proto-Germanic gamainiz, from Proto-Indo-European ḱom-moynis.
Gemeinwesen (German): body politic
Definitions
- body politic
Ancestry of “Gemeinwesen”, step by step
Gemeinwesen traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via German gemein
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | German | gemein | mean, base, nasty, cruel, wicked, vile, vicious,... |
| 2 | Middle High German | gemein | — |
| 3 | Old High German | gimeinī | — |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | gamainī | common; shared, communal |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | gamainiz | shared, communal, public; common, ordinary |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱom-moynis | — |