Where does “Pflegemutter” come from?

Pflegemutter (German) comes from German pflege, from Middle High German pflege, from Old High German pflega, from Proto-West Germanic plegō, from Proto-West Germanic -ō, from Proto-Germanic -ô, from Proto-Indo-European -ō — Derives nouns from roots.

Pflegemutter (German): foster mother

Definitions

  1. foster mother

Ancestry of “Pflegemutter”, step by step

Pflegemutter traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via German pflege

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanpflegeinflection of pflegen: ## first-person singular...
2Middle High Germanpflege—
3Old High Germanpflega—
4Proto-West Germanicplegōcare; an exercise; a game
5Proto-West Germanic-ōCreates adverbs from adjectives; Creates agent...
6Proto-Germanic-ô-ly; Forms agent nouns, often from the zero-grade...
7Proto-Indo-European-ōDerives nouns from roots

via German mutter

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanmuttermother
2Middle High Germanmuotermother
3Old High Germanmuotermother
4Old Frisianmōder—
5Proto-Germanicmōdērmother
6Proto-Indo-Europeanméh₂tērmother
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -ō →Every word from Proto-Germanic -ô →Every word from Proto-West Germanic -ō →