Where does “Wattebällchen” come from?
Wattebällchen (German) comes from German Bällchen, from German ball, from French bal, from Old French bal.
Wattebällchen (German): cotton ball
Ancestry of “Wattebällchen”, step by step
Wattebällchen traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via German Bällchen
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | German | Bällchen | Diminutive of Ball |
| 2 | German | ball | ball round or roundish object, most commonly used in games |
| 3 | French | bal | dance party, ball |
| 4 | Old French | bal | — |
via German Watte
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | German | Watte | cotton wool |
| 2 | Dutch | watten | cotton wool |
| 3 | French | ouate | cotton wool; first-person singular present... |