Where does “Merkwürdigkeit” come from?
Merkwürdigkeit (German) comes from German merkwürdig, from German -würdig, from German würdig, from German -ig, from German -jährig, from German Jahr, from Middle High German jār, from Old High German jār — year.
Merkwürdigkeit (German): strangeness, oddity
Ancestry of “Merkwürdigkeit”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | German | merkwürdig | strange, odd; remarkable, noteworthy; worthy to... |
| 2 | German | -würdig | -worthy |
| 3 | German | würdig | worthy of; honourable, dignified |
| 4 | German | -ig | -y; forms adjectives from nouns; forms adjectives... |
| 5 | German | -jährig | years old; years lasting |
| 6 | German | Jahr | year |
| 7 | Middle High German | jār | year |
| 8 | Old High German | jār | year |
| 9 | Proto-West Germanic | jār | year |
| 10 | Proto-Germanic | jērą | year; name of the J-rune |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | yeh₁r- | year |