Where does “Märchen” come from?

Märchen (German) comes from German Mär, from Middle High German mære, from Old High German māri, from Proto-Germanic mērijaz, from Proto-Indo-European mēros — large, handsome.

Märchen (German): fairy tale

Definitions

  1. fairy tale

Ancestry of “Märchen”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanMäran often repeated untruth, a fable, a false...
2Middle High Germanmærefamous
3Old High Germanmārifamous, great; well known, famous; news, tale
4Proto-Germanicmērijazrenowned, famous, great
5Proto-Indo-Europeanmēroslarge, handsome

Words derived from “Märchen”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European mēros →Every word from Proto-Germanic mērijaz →Every word from Old High German māri →