Etymology Explorer › German

Where does “beobachten” come from?

beobachten (German) comes from German Obacht, from German ob-, from Latin ob-, from Latin obolus, from Ancient Greek ὀβολός, from Ancient Greek ὀβελός, from Ancient Greek βέλος, from Proto-Indo-European gʷélHos — to throw, reach, pierce; to hit by throwing.

beobachten (German): to watch, to observe

Definitions

  1. to watch, to observe

Ancestry of “beobachten”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanObacht—
2Germanob-over-, super-; ob-
3Latinob-towards; against
4Latinobolusobolus
5Ancient Greekὀβολόςobol, obolus, used at Athens as both a weight and...
6Ancient Greekὀβελόςa spit, rod; a horizontal line
7Ancient Greekβέλοςmissile, arrow, dart; weapon; something quickly...
8Proto-Indo-EuropeangʷélHos—
9Proto-Indo-EuropeangʷelH-to throw, reach, pierce; to hit by throwing

Words derived from “beobachten”

  • Beobachtungsstand
  • Beobachtung
  • beobachtbar
  • beobachten
Every word from Proto-Indo-European gʷelH- →