Where does “Trümmerfrau” come from?

Trümmerfrau (German) comes from German frau, from Middle High German vrouwe, from Old High German frouwa, from Proto-West Germanic *frauwjā, from Proto-Germanic frawjǭ, from Proto-Indo-European proHwo-, from Proto-Indo-European per-, from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós — passed , crossed.

Trümmerfrau (German): woman who helped to rebuild German and Austrian cities after World War II

Definitions

  1. woman who helped to rebuild German and Austrian cities after World War II

Ancestry of “Trümmerfrau”, step by step

Trümmerfrau traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via German frau

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanfrauone, they
2Middle High Germanvrouwewoman, lady, madam
3Old High Germanfrouwalady
4Proto-West Germanic*frauwjālady, wife of a lord woman of high standing
5Proto-Germanicfrawjǭlady, wife of a lord
6Proto-Indo-EuropeanproHwo-master, judge; right judge, master
7Proto-Indo-Europeanper-before, in front; first; to go through
8Proto-Indo-Europeanpr̥tóspassed , crossed

via German Trümmer

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanTrümmerruins, debris, wreckage, remains, fragments;...
2GermanTrummwhopper something extremely or unusually large
3Germantrommelinflection of trommeln: ## first-person singular...
4Middle High Germantrummel
5Old High Germantrumme
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tósEvery word from Proto-Indo-European per-Every word from Proto-Indo-European proHwo-