Where does “Gewissensfrage” come from?

Gewissensfrage (German) comes from German Frage, from Middle High German vrāge, from Old High German frāga, from Proto-West Germanic *frāgu, from Proto-Germanic frēgō, from Proto-Indo-European preḱ-, from Proto-Indo-European pr̥ḱneh₂.

Gewissensfrage (German): a difficult question or problem, often pertaining to some element of ethics or conduct, often being such that it has to be resolved by the individual itself

Definitions

  1. a difficult question or problem, often pertaining to some element of ethics or conduct, often being such that it has to be resolved by the individual itself

Ancestry of “Gewissensfrage”, step by step

Gewissensfrage traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via German Frage

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanFragequestion; question, issue; question, doubt
2Middle High Germanvrāge—
3Old High Germanfrāgaquestion
4Proto-West Germanic*frāguquestion
5Proto-Germanicfrēgōquestion
6Proto-Indo-Europeanpreḱ-to ask
7Proto-Indo-Europeanpr̥ḱneh₂—

via German Gewissen

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanGewissenconscience
2Old High Germangiwizzani—
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pr̥ḱneh₂ →Every word from Proto-Indo-European preḱ- →Every word from Proto-Germanic frēgō →