Where does “Irrsinnigkeit” come from?
Irrsinnigkeit (German) comes from German irrsinnig, from German Irrsinn, from German sinn, from Middle High German sīn, from Old High German sīn, from Proto-West Germanic sinn, from Proto-Germanic sinnaz, from Proto-Indo-European sentnós — to be.
Irrsinnigkeit (German): madness, insanity
Ancestry of “Irrsinnigkeit”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | German | irrsinnig | insane, mad; mind-boggling |
| 2 | German | Irrsinn | insanity, madness |
| 3 | German | sinn | singular imperative of sinnen |
| 4 | Middle High German | sīn | — |
| 5 | Old High German | sīn | his; to be |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | sinn | sense, perception; sense, meaning; reason, mental... |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | sinnaz | sense, perception; sense, meaning |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | sentnós | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | sent- | to head for, to go, to travel; to feel |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁es- | to be |