Where does “Zwillingsschwester” come from?

Zwillingsschwester (German) comes from German Zwilling, from Middle High German zwillinc, from Old High German zwiniling, from Proto-Germanic twinilingaz, from Proto-Germanic -ilingaz, from Proto-Germanic -ilaz, from Proto-Indo-European -lós — Forms agent nouns from verbal roots.

Zwillingsschwester (German): twin sister

Definitions

  1. twin sister

Ancestry of “Zwillingsschwester”, step by step

Zwillingsschwester traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via German Zwilling

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanZwillingtwin
2Middle High Germanzwillinc—
3Old High Germanzwiniling—
4Proto-Germanictwinilingaz—
5Proto-Germanic-ilingazForms noun-derivatives with sense of 'belonging...
6Proto-Germanic-ilazagent suffix; diminutive suffix
7Proto-Indo-European-lósForms agent nouns from verbal roots

via German schwester

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanschwestersister
2Middle High Germanswëster—
3Old High Germanswestersister
4Proto-West Germanic*swestersister
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -lós →Every word from Proto-Germanic -ilaz →Every word from Proto-Germanic -ilingaz →