Where does “gēn” come from?
gēn (German) comes from Middle High German gēn, from Old High German gēn, from Proto-West Germanic gān, from Proto-Germanic gāną, from Proto-Indo-European ǵʰengʰ- — to walk; to step.
Ancestry of “gēn”, step by step
gēn traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle High German gēn
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle High German | gēn | — |
| 2 | Old High German | gēn | — |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | gān | to go |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | gāną | to go, walk |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵʰengʰ- | to walk; to step |
via Ancient Greek γενεά
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ancient Greek | γενεά | birth; race, descent; generation |
| 2 | Ancient Greek | γεννάω | to beget, give birth to; to bring forth, produce,... |
| 3 | Ancient Greek | γέννα | "Ancient Greek"; "Medieval" "Greek" |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵenh₁- | to produce, to beget, to give birth |
via German Genom
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | German | Genom | genome |