Where does “Nichtswisser” come from?
Nichtswisser (German) comes from German wissen, from German Besserwisser, from German besser, from Middle High German beȥȥer, from Old High German beȥȥiro, from Proto-West Germanic *batiʀō, from Proto-Germanic batizô, from Proto-Germanic gōdaz — to join; to unite; to suit.
Nichtswisser (German): ignoramus
Definitions
- ignoramus
Ancestry of “Nichtswisser”, step by step
Nichtswisser traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via German wissen
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | German | wissen | to know; to be aware of; to remember |
| 2 | German | Besserwisser | know-it-all, wiseguy, wiseacre, smart aleck |
| 3 | German | besser | comparative degree of gut; better; inflection of... |
| 4 | Middle High German | beȥȥer | — |
| 5 | Old High German | beȥȥiro | better |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | *batiʀō | better |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | batizô | comparative degree of *gōdaz; comparative degree... |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | gōdaz | good |
| 9 | Proto-Germanic | gadaną | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | gʰedʰ- | to join; to unite; to suit |
via German nichts
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | German | nichts | nothing |
| 2 | Middle High German | nihtes niht | nothing of nothing |
| 3 | Old High German | niowiht | — |
| 4 | Old High German | nio | never |
| 5 | Old High German | io | always |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | aiw | long time, age, eternity; law |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | aiwaz | long time, age, eternity |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂eyu- | vitality; eternal; vital force, life, long life,... |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂ey- | vital force, life, age, eternity; day, morning |