Where does “Zusammenspiel” come from?

Zusammenspiel (German) comes from German spiel, from Middle High German spil, from Old High German spil, from Proto-West Germanic spil — dance; game, exercise.

Zusammenspiel (German): interaction, interplay, cooperation, teamwork

Definitions

  1. interaction, interplay, cooperation, teamwork

Ancestry of “Zusammenspiel”, step by step

Zusammenspiel traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via German spiel

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanspiela game instance or way of playing
2Middle High Germanspil—
3Old High Germanspil—
4Proto-West Germanicspildance; game, exercise

via German zusammen

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanzusammentogether, jointly
2Middle High Germanzesamenetogether
3Old High Germanzisamanetogether
Every word from Proto-West Germanic spil →Every word from Old High German spil →Every word from Middle High German spil →