Where does “Wortlaut” come from?

Wortlaut (German) comes from German Laut, from Middle High German lūt, from Old High German lūt, from Proto-West Germanic hlūd, from Proto-Germanic hlūdaz, from Proto-Indo-European ḱlewtos, from Proto-Indo-European ḱlew-, from Proto-Indo-European ḱel- — to cover; to incline.

Wortlaut (German): wording

Definitions

  1. wording

Ancestry of “Wortlaut”, step by step

Wortlaut traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via German Laut

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanLautsound; noise
2Middle High Germanlūtloud
3Old High Germanlūtloud
4Proto-West Germanichlūdloud; sound
5Proto-Germanichlūdazloud; famous
6Proto-Indo-Europeanḱlewtosheard, famous
7Proto-Indo-Europeanḱlew-to hear
8Proto-Indo-Europeanḱel-to cover; to incline

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
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ḱel- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European ḱlew- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European ḱlewtos →