Where does “Wirbelsäule” come from?

Wirbelsäule (German) comes from German Säule, from German sūl, from Old High German sūl, from Proto-West Germanic sūli, from Proto-Germanic sūliz, from Proto-Indo-European ḱsewl-, from Proto-Indo-European ḱsew- — to scrape, shave, sharpen.

Wirbelsäule (German): vertebral column, backbone, spine

Definitions

  1. vertebral column, backbone, spine

Ancestry of “Wirbelsäule”, step by step

Wirbelsäule traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via German Säule

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanSäulecolumn, pillar
2Germansūl—
3Old High Germansūlstyle, pole
4Proto-West Germanicsūlipillar
5Proto-Germanicsūlizbeam, post; column, pillar
6Proto-Indo-Europeanḱsewl-—
7Proto-Indo-Europeanḱsew-to scrape, shave, sharpen

via German Wirbel

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanWirbelwhirl; whorl; vortex
2Middle High Germanwirbel—
3Old High Germanwirbil—
4Proto-Germanichwirbilazcircle, ring, whirl
5Proto-Germanic-ilazagent suffix; diminutive suffix
6Proto-Indo-European-lósForms agent nouns from verbal roots
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ḱsew- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European ḱsewl- →Every word from Proto-Germanic sūliz →
Wirbelsäule — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer