Where does “Schwachsinn” come from?

Schwachsinn (German) comes from German sinn, from Middle High German sīn, from Old High German sīn, from Proto-West Germanic sinn, from Proto-Germanic sinnaz, from Proto-Indo-European sentnós, from Proto-Indo-European sent-, from Proto-Indo-European h₁es- — to be.

Schwachsinn (German): nonsense; mental retardation

Definitions

  1. nonsense; mental retardation

Ancestry of “Schwachsinn”, step by step

Schwachsinn traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via German sinn

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germansinnsingular imperative of sinnen
2Middle High Germansīnto be, become
3Old High Germansīnhis; to be
4Proto-West Germanicsinnsense, perception; sense, meaning; reason, mental...
5Proto-Germanicsinnazsense, perception; sense, meaning
6Proto-Indo-Europeansentnós—
7Proto-Indo-Europeansent-to head for, to go, to travel; to feel
8Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁es-to be

via German schwach

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanschwachweak
2Middle High Germanswach—
3Old High Germanswah—
4Proto-West Germanicswakswinging; swaying; yielding easily; pliable; weak
5Proto-Indo-Europeanswe(n)g-—

Words derived from “Schwachsinn”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁es- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European sent- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European sentnós →