Where does “Zugspitze” come from?
Zugspitze (German) comes from German spitze, from Middle High German spitze, from Old High German spizza, from Proto-Germanic spitjaz.
Ancestry of “Zugspitze”, step by step
Zugspitze traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via German spitze
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | German | spitze | great, awesome; inflection of spitzen:
##... |
| 2 | Middle High German | spitze | — |
| 3 | Old High German | spizza | — |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | spitjaz | — |
via German zug
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | German | zug | procession |
| 2 | Middle High German | zuc | — |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | tugiz | a drawing, tug, pull |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | dewk- | to pull, to draw; to lead |