Where does “Hilfsmittel” come from?

Hilfsmittel (German) comes from German mittel, from Middle High German mittel, from Old High German mittil, from Proto-Germanic midlą, from Proto-Germanic midjō, from Proto-Indo-European médʰyos, from Proto-Indo-European medʰi-, from Proto-Indo-European me — in the middle of, near, by, around, with.

Hilfsmittel (German): device, implement, aid, tool, jig, resource,...

Definitions

  1. device, implement, aid, tool, jig, resource,...

Ancestry of “Hilfsmittel”, step by step

Hilfsmittel traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via German mittel

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanmittelmiddle, in the middle; average, middling
2Middle High Germanmittel—
3Old High Germanmittil—
4Proto-Germanicmidląmiddle
5Proto-Germanicmidjōmiddle, midst
6Proto-Indo-Europeanmédʰyosmiddle
7Proto-Indo-Europeanmedʰi-with, among; with, along
8Proto-Indo-Europeanmein the middle of, near, by, around, with

via German Hilfe

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanHilfehelp
2Middle High Germanhilfe—
3Old High Germanhilfa—
4Proto-Germanichilpizhelp
5Proto-Germanichelpanąto help
6Proto-Indo-Europeanḱelb-help
Every word from Proto-Indo-European me →Every word from Proto-Indo-European medʰi- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European médʰyos →