Where does “Schaltknüppel” come from?

Schaltknüppel (German) comes from German schalten, from Middle High German schalten, from Old High German scaltan, from Proto-Germanic skaldaną — to knock, hit.

Ancestry of “Schaltknüppel”, step by step

Schaltknüppel traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via German schalten

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanschaltento switch
2Middle High Germanschalten—
3Old High Germanscaltanto push a ship forward
4Proto-Germanicskaldanąto knock, hit

via German knüppel

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanknüppelcudgel
2Middle Low Germanknüppel—
Every word from Proto-Germanic skaldaną →