Where does “Personenkraftwagen” come from?
Personenkraftwagen (German) comes from German Kraftwagen, from German wägen, from Middle High German wāgen, from Middle High German wāge, from Middle Low German wāge, from Old Saxon wag, from Proto-West Germanic wāg, from Proto-Germanic wēgaz — to bring; to transport.
Personenkraftwagen (German): car; passenger car
Definitions
- car; passenger car
Ancestry of “Personenkraftwagen”, step by step
Personenkraftwagen traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via German Kraftwagen
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | German | Kraftwagen | car, automobile |
| 2 | German | wägen | to weigh something |
| 3 | Middle High German | wāgen | — |
| 4 | Middle High German | wāge | wave; scale |
| 5 | Middle Low German | wāge | wave |
| 6 | Old Saxon | wag | wave |
| 7 | Proto-West Germanic | wāg | wave |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | wēgaz | wave; sea |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | weǵʰ- | to bring; to transport |
via German persōn
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | German | persōn | person, individual |
| 2 | Middle High German | persōn | — |
| 3 | Latin | persōna | mask |
| 4 | Etruscan | 𐌘𐌄𐌓𐌔𐌖 | a mask; a masked individual, often performing in... |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | πρόσωπον | face, visage, countenance; front; mask |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | ὤψ | to the eye; in the face; eye |
| 7 | Proto-Hellenic | ókʷs | eye |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₃ókʷs | eye |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | h₃ekʷ- | to see; eye |