Where does “Halbwissen” come from?
Halbwissen (German) comes from German wissen, from German Besserwisser, from German besser, from Middle High German beȥȥer, from Old High German beȥȥiro, from Proto-West Germanic *batiʀō, from Proto-Germanic batizô, from Proto-Germanic gōdaz — to join; to unite; to suit.
Halbwissen (German): superficial knowledge, especially that of an...
Definitions
- superficial knowledge, especially that of an...
Ancestry of “Halbwissen”, step by step
Halbwissen traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via German wissen
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | German | wissen | to know; to be aware of; to remember |
| 2 | German | Besserwisser | know-it-all, wiseguy, wiseacre, smart aleck |
| 3 | German | besser | comparative degree of gut; better; inflection of... |
| 4 | Middle High German | beȥȥer | — |
| 5 | Old High German | beȥȥiro | better |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | *batiʀō | better |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | batizô | comparative degree of *gōdaz; comparative degree... |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | gōdaz | good |
| 9 | Proto-Germanic | gadaną | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | gʰedʰ- | to join; to unite; to suit |
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,... |