Where does “Wehrmauer” come from?
Wehrmauer (German) comes from German Mauer, from Middle High German mūre, from Old High German mūra, from Proto-West Germanic *mūrā, from Latin mūrus, from Old Latin moerus, from Proto-Indo-European mēy- — soft, tender, dear.
Wehrmauer (German): defensive wall
Definitions
- defensive wall
Ancestry of “Wehrmauer”, step by step
Wehrmauer traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via German Mauer
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | German | Mauer | a wall, usually one made of stone or concrete |
| 2 | Middle High German | mūre | wall |
| 3 | Old High German | mūra | wall |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | *mūrā | wall |
| 5 | Latin | mūrus | wall, city wall(s), (usually of a city, as opposed to pariēs) |
| 6 | Old Latin | moerus | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | mēy- | soft, tender, dear |
via German Wehr
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | German | Wehr | resistance; defence; also in the sense of... |
| 2 | Middle High German | were | — |
| 3 | Old High German | werī | — |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | warīniz | warding off, defense |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | -īniz | Forms abstract nouns from weak class 1 verbs |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | -niz | Forms abstract nouns from verbal roots and stems |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -nis | — |