Where does “Halbwertszeit” come from?
Halbwertszeit (German) comes from German halb, from Middle High German halp, from Old High German halb, from Proto-West Germanic halb, from Proto-Germanic halbaz, from Proto-Indo-European (s)kelH-, from Proto-Indo-European (s)kel- — to bend, crook; bent, crooked; leg, heel, knee,...
Halbwertszeit (German): half-life
Definitions
- half-life
Ancestry of “Halbwertszeit”, step by step
Halbwertszeit traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via German halb
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | German | halb | half, halfway; a half-hour before, thirty minutes... |
| 2 | Middle High German | halp | — |
| 3 | Old High German | halb | — |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | halb | half |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | halbaz | half |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)kelH- | to cut; to split, to separate |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)kel- | to bend, crook; bent, crooked; leg, heel, knee,... |
via German Zeit
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | German | Zeit | time; time of day; period, era |
| 2 | Middle High German | zīt | time |
| 3 | Old High German | zīt | time |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | déh₂itis | interval, period of time |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | deh₂y- | to share, divide |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | deh₂- | to share, divide |
via German wert
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | German | wert | worth something, worthy of something; worthy of... |
| 2 | Middle High German | wert | worthy, valuable, noble |
| 3 | Old High German | werd | worth |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | werþaz | worthy, valuable |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | wert- | to turn, to rotate |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | wer- | to burn; to cover, heed, notice; squirrel |