Where does “Zeitalter” come from?

Zeitalter (German) comes from German alter, from German Alt, from Middle High German alt, from Old High German alt, from Proto-West Germanic ald, from Proto-Germanic aldaz, from Proto-Indo-European h₂eltós, from Proto-Indo-European h₂él- — to grow, nourish.

Zeitalter (German): age; era

Definitions

  1. age; era

Ancestry of “Zeitalter”, step by step

Zeitalter traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via German alter

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanalterage, old age
2GermanAltalto; A type of beer, typical to the Rhineland...
3Middle High Germanalt—
4Old High Germanaltold
5Proto-West Germanicaldold
6Proto-Germanicaldazold, grown up
7Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂eltós—
8Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂él-to grow, nourish

via German Zeit

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanZeittime; time of day; period, era
2Middle High Germanzīttime
3Old High Germanzīttime
4Proto-Indo-Europeandéh₂itisinterval, period of time
5Proto-Indo-Europeandeh₂y-to share, divide
6Proto-Indo-Europeandeh₂-to share, divide

Words derived from “Zeitalter”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂él- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂eltós →Every word from Proto-Germanic aldaz →