Where does “Weltverbesserer” come from?
Weltverbesserer (German) comes from German Verbesserer, from German verbessern, from German bessern, from German besser, from German Besserwisser, from German wissen, from Middle High German wiȥȥen, from Old High German wiȥȥan — to see.
Weltverbesserer (German): do-gooder
Definitions
- do-gooder
Ancestry of “Weltverbesserer”, step by step
Weltverbesserer traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via German Verbesserer
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | German | Verbesserer | improver |
| 2 | German | verbessern | to improve; to correct |
| 3 | German | bessern | to improve, to better |
| 4 | German | besser | comparative degree of gut; better; inflection of... |
| 5 | German | Besserwisser | know-it-all, wiseguy, wiseacre, smart aleck |
| 6 | German | wissen | to know; to be aware of; to remember |
| 7 | Middle High German | wiȥȥen | to know |
| 8 | Old High German | wiȥȥan | to know |
| 9 | Proto-West Germanic | wītan | to accuse, to blame |
| 10 | Proto-Germanic | *witaną | — |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | wóyde | to have seen, to know |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | weyd- | to see |
via German welt
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | German | welt | world |
| 2 | Middle High German | werlt | world |
| 3 | Old High German | weralt | world |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | weraldi | world |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | weraldiz | lifetime, worldly existence; mankind; world |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | weraz | man; husband |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | wiHrós | man; husband; warrior, hero |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | weyh₁- | to chase, pursue; to suppress, persecute |