Where does “Totmannschalter” come from?

Totmannschalter (German) comes from German Schalter, from German -er, from Old High German -āri, from Proto-West Germanic -ārī, from Proto-Germanic -ārijaz, from Latin -ārius, from Proto-Italic *-āzios — Forms relational adjectives to nouns (and rarely numerals).

Totmannschalter (German): dead man's switch

Definitions

  1. dead man's switch

Ancestry of “Totmannschalter”, step by step

Totmannschalter traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via German Schalter

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanSchalteragent noun of schalten
2German-erForms agent nouns etc. from verbs, suffixed to...
3Old High German-āriused to form agent nouns
4Proto-West Germanic-ārī-er
5Proto-Germanic-ārijaz-er
6Latin-āriuser
7Proto-Italic*-āziosForms relational adjectives to nouns (and rarely numerals)

via German tōt

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germantōtdead, deceased
2Middle High Germantōt
3Old High Germantōtdead
4Proto-West Germanicdauddead
5Proto-Germanicdaudazdead
6Proto-Indo-EuropeandʰowHtós

via German mann

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanmannman, male human being
2Middle High Germanmanman
3Old High Germanmanman
4Proto-Germanic*mann-
5Proto-Indo-Europeanmen-to think, mind; spiritual activity; to stay,...
Every word from Proto-Italic *-āziosEvery word from Latin -āriusEvery word from German -er
Totmannschalter — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer