Where does “Nachrichtendienst” come from?

Nachrichtendienst (German) comes from German dienst, from Middle High German dienst, from Old High German dionest, from Proto-Germanic þewanōstaz, from Proto-Indo-European tekʷ- — to run, to flow.

Nachrichtendienst (German): intelligence agency (a department, agency or unit designed to gather such information)

Definitions

  1. intelligence agency (a department, agency or unit designed to gather such information)

Ancestry of “Nachrichtendienst”, step by step

Nachrichtendienst traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via German dienst

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germandienstsecond-person singular present of dienen
2Middle High Germandienst
3Old High Germandionest
4Proto-Germanicþewanōstazservice
5Proto-Indo-Europeantekʷ-to run, to flow

via German nachricht

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germannachrichtnews, piece of news, notification
Every word from Proto-Indo-European tekʷ-Every word from Proto-Germanic þewanōstazEvery word from Old High German dionest