Where does “Rinderwahnsinn” come from?

Rinderwahnsinn (German) comes from German Wahnsinn, from German wahnsinnig, from German wahnwitzig, from German -ig, from German -jährig, from German Jahr, from Middle High German jār, from Old High German jār — year.

Rinderwahnsinn (German): bovine spongiform encephalopathy, mad cow disease

Definitions

  1. bovine spongiform encephalopathy, mad cow disease

Ancestry of “Rinderwahnsinn”, step by step

Rinderwahnsinn traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via German Wahnsinn

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanWahnsinninsanity, madness; awesome!, man!, wicked!
2Germanwahnsinnigmad, insane; incredible, unbelievable;...
3Germanwahnwitzigabsurd; insane
4German-ig-y; forms adjectives from nouns; forms adjectives...
5German-jährigyears old; years lasting
6GermanJahryear
7Middle High Germanjāryear
8Old High Germanjāryear
9Proto-West Germanicjāryear
10Proto-Germanicjērąyear; name of the J-rune
11Proto-Indo-Europeanyeh₁r-year

via German rind

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanrindcow, bull, ox, head of cattle any bovine animal
2Old High Germanrindcattle
3Proto-West Germanichrinþhead of cattle
4Proto-GermanichrinþazA horned beast, as in a neat or ox
5Proto-Indo-Europeanḱrént-os ~ ḱrn̥t-és-s
6Proto-Indo-Europeanḱerh₂-head, top; horn
Every word from Proto-Indo-European yeh₁r-Every word from German -igEvery word from Proto-Germanic jērą