Where does “Wortanfang” come from?

Wortanfang (German) comes from German wôrt, from Middle High German wort, from Old High German wort, from Proto-West Germanic word, from Proto-Germanic wurdą, from Proto-Indo-European werdʰo-, from Proto-Indo-European werh₁- — to speak, say.

Wortanfang (German): the first linguistic element in a word

Definitions

  1. the first linguistic element in a word

Ancestry of “Wortanfang”, step by step

Wortanfang traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via German wôrt

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanwôrtplural word as an isolated unit
2Middle High Germanwortword; verb
3Old High Germanwortword; verb
4Proto-West Germanicwordword
5Proto-Germanicwurdąword
6Proto-Indo-Europeanwerdʰo-word
7Proto-Indo-Europeanwerh₁-to speak, say

via German Anfang

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanAnfangstart, beginning, origin
2Middle High Germananvanc—
3Old High Germananafangbeginning, start
Every word from Proto-Indo-European werh₁- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European werdʰo- →Every word from Proto-Germanic wurdą →