Where does “Prügelknabe” come from?

Prügelknabe (German) comes from German knabe, from Middle High German knabe, from Old High German knabo, from Proto-West Germanic knabō — alternative reconstruction of *knappō.

Prügelknabe (German): whipping boy

Definitions

  1. whipping boy

Ancestry of “Prügelknabe”, step by step

Prügelknabe traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via German knabe

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanknabeknave, boy, lad
2Middle High Germanknabe—
3Old High Germanknaboboy
4Proto-West Germanicknabōalternative reconstruction of *knappō

via German Prügel

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanPrügelclub, cudgel; cock, penis; swats, a beating,...
Every word from Proto-West Germanic knabō →Every word from Old High German knabo →Every word from Middle High German knabe →