Where does “Gleichgültigkeit” come from?
Gleichgültigkeit (German) comes from German gleichgültig, from German gültig, from Middle High German gülte, from German gelten, from Middle High German gelten, from Old High German geltan, from Proto-West Germanic geldan, from Proto-Germanic geldaną — to repay, reward; to pay; to pay for, repay.
Gleichgültigkeit (German): indifference
Ancestry of “Gleichgültigkeit”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | German | gleichgültig | indifferent; unimportant |
| 2 | German | gültig | valid, validated, legal; available |
| 3 | Middle High German | gülte | income, interest |
| 4 | German | gelten | to be valid; to count; to hold true; to be... |
| 5 | Middle High German | gelten | — |
| 6 | Old High German | geltan | to pay |
| 7 | Proto-West Germanic | geldan | to pay for |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | geldaną | to pay; to have/give value |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | gʰeldʰ- | to repay, reward; to pay; to pay for, repay |