Etymology Explorer › German

Where does “Umlaut” come from?

Umlaut (German) comes from German um, from Middle High German ümbe, from Old High German umbi, from Proto-West Germanic umbi, from Proto-Germanic umbi, from Proto-Indo-European h₂m̥bʰi, from Proto-Indo-European h₂n̥tbʰi, from Proto-Indo-European h₂énts — on, onto.

Umlaut (German): umlaut; The diacritical mark placed over a vowel...

Definitions

  1. umlaut; The diacritical mark placed over a vowel...

Ancestry of “Umlaut”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanumabout; around; at, by
2Middle High Germanümbe—
3Old High Germanumbiaround
4Proto-West Germanicumbiaround
5Proto-Germanicumbiaround, about
6Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂m̥bʰiaround, on either side of, about; in exchange...
7Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂n̥tbʰi—
8Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂éntsforehead; front
9Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂ent-face; forehead; front
10Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂en-on, onto

Words derived from “Umlaut”

  • umlaut
  • umlautless
  • umlautlessness
  • умляут
  • умлаут
  • Rückumlaut
  • umlaut
  • ウムラウト
  • metalumlaut
  • umlaut
  • უმლაუტი
  • umlaut
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂en- →