Where does “Zwischenfall” come from?

Zwischenfall (German) comes from German fäll, from Middle High German val, from Old High German val, from Proto-West Germanic fall, from Proto-Germanic fallaz, from German Falz, from Latin falx, from Proto-Indo-European dʰelg- — a cutting tool; to stick; needle, pin.

Zwischenfall (German): incident

Definitions

  1. incident

Ancestry of “Zwischenfall”, step by step

Zwischenfall traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via German fäll

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanfällsingular imperative of fällen; first-person...
2Middle High Germanvalfall; case
3Old High Germanvalfall
4Proto-West Germanicfalla fall; death, destruction, downfall
5Proto-Germanicfallaza fall; death, destruction, downfall
6GermanFalzfold; rabbet, rebate; seam
7Latinfalxsickle, scythe; a hook used to pull down walls
8Proto-Indo-Europeandʰelg-a cutting tool; to stick; needle, pin

via German zwischen

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanzwischenbetween; among, amongst
2Old High German[[in]] [[zuiskēn]]
3Old High Germanzuiskitwofold
4Old High Germanzwēnetwo
5Proto-West Germanictwai-two
6Proto-Germanictwaitwo
7Proto-Indo-Europeandwóh₁two
Every word from Proto-Indo-European dʰelg-Every word from Latin falxEvery word from German Falz