Where does “Kurzwaffe” come from?

Kurzwaffe (German) comes from German kurz, from Middle High German kurz, from Old High German kurz, from Proto-West Germanic kurt, from Latin curtus, from Proto-Indo-European (s)ḱer- — dung, manure, filth; manure, dung, filth.

Kurzwaffe (German): A firearm with a barrel shorter than 30 cm, thus a handgun, a short machine pistol, or a very short rifle

Definitions

  1. A firearm with a barrel shorter than 30 cm, thus a handgun, a short machine pistol, or a very short rifle

Ancestry of “Kurzwaffe”, step by step

Kurzwaffe traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via German kurz

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germankurzshort, brief; concise; briefly, in short
2Middle High Germankurz—
3Old High Germankurzshort
4Proto-West Germanickurtshort
5Latincurtusshortened, short; mutilated, broken, incomplete
6Proto-Indo-European(s)ḱer-dung, manure, filth; manure, dung, filth

via German waffe

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanwaffeweapon, arm
2Middle High Germanwāfenweapon
3Old High Germanwāfanweapon
4Proto-West Germanicwāpnweapon
5Proto-Germanicwēpnąweapon
6Proto-Indo-Europeanwēbnom—
Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)ḱer- →Every word from Latin curtus →Every word from Proto-West Germanic kurt →