Where does “Schaltfläche” come from?

Schaltfläche (German) comes from German fläche, from Middle High German vleche, from Old High German flah, from Proto-West Germanic *flak, from Proto-Germanic flakaz, from Proto-Indo-European pl̥keh — flat surface.

Schaltfläche (German): button

Definitions

  1. button

Ancestry of “Schaltfläche”, step by step

Schaltfläche traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via German fläche

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanflächesurface
2Middle High Germanvleche—
3Old High Germanflahflat, smooth
4Proto-West Germanic*flak—
5Proto-Germanicflakazflat
6Proto-Indo-Europeanpl̥kehflat surface

via German schalten

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanschaltento switch
2Middle High Germanschalten—
3Old High Germanscaltanto push a ship forward
4Proto-Germanicskaldanąto knock, hit
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pl̥keh →