Etymology Explorer › German

Where does “Hirngespinst” come from?

Hirngespinst (German) comes from German Hirn, from Middle High German hirne, from Old High German hirni, from Proto-West Germanic *hirʀnī.

Hirngespinst (German): chimera, fantasy; pipe dream

Definitions

  1. chimera, fantasy; pipe dream

Ancestry of “Hirngespinst”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanHirnbrain
2Middle High Germanhirne—
3Old High Germanhirnibrain
4Proto-West Germanic*hirʀnī—
Every word from Proto-West Germanic *hirʀnī →