Where does “Schwellenfigur” come from?

Schwellenfigur (German) comes from German Schwelle, from Middle High German swelle, from Old High German swelli, from Proto-Germanic sulī, from Proto-Indo-European sēl- — to calm, quiet, be favourable.

Schwellenfigur (German): transitional figure

Definitions

  1. transitional figure

Ancestry of “Schwellenfigur”, step by step

Schwellenfigur traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via German Schwelle

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanSchwellethreshold; railroad tie, railway sleeper
2Middle High Germanswelle—
3Old High Germanswelli—
4Proto-Germanicsulībalk, bar, threshold, sill
5Proto-Indo-Europeansēl-to calm, quiet, be favourable

via German Figur

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanFigurfigure, figurine; character; piece
2Latinfigūrashape, form, figure
3Latinfingōto shape, fashion, form, knead (dough)
4Proto-Indo-Europeandʰeyǵʰ-to knead; to form, to shape
Every word from Proto-Indo-European sēl- →