Etymology Explorer › German

Where does “Kühlschrank” come from?

Kühlschrank (German) comes from German kühl, from Middle High German küele, from Old High German kuolī, from Proto-West Germanic kōl(ī), from Proto-Germanic kōluz, from Proto-Germanic kalaną, from Proto-Indo-European ǵel- — to swallow; swallow.

Kühlschrank (German): refrigerator

Definitions

  1. refrigerator

Ancestry of “Kühlschrank”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germankühlcool; calm, restrained, passionless; cool, frigid
2Middle High Germanküele—
3Old High Germankuolī—
4Proto-West Germanickōl(ī)cool
5Proto-Germanickōluzcool
6Proto-Germanickalanąto be cold, to freeze
7Proto-Indo-Europeanǵel-to swallow; swallow
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ǵel- →