Where does “Schwarzwald” come from?

Schwarzwald (German) comes from German wald, from Middle High German walt, from Old High German wald, from Proto-West Germanic walþu, from Proto-Germanic walþuz, from Proto-Indo-European wel- — to see.

Schwarzwald (German): Black Forest

Definitions

  1. Black Forest

Ancestry of “Schwarzwald”, step by step

Schwarzwald traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via German wald

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanwaldforest; woods; woodland
2Middle High Germanwalt—
3Old High Germanwaldforest
4Proto-West Germanicwalþuforest
5Proto-Germanicwalþuzforest
6Proto-Indo-Europeanwel-to see

via German Schwärz

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanSchwärz—
2Middle High Germanswarz—
3Old High Germanswarzblack
4Proto-West Germanicswartblack
5Proto-Germanicswartazblack
6Proto-Indo-Europeanswordo-dirty, dark, black

Words derived from “Schwarzwald”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European wel- →Every word from Proto-Germanic walþuz →Every word from Proto-West Germanic walþu →