Where does “bezweifeln” come from?
bezweifeln (German) comes from German zweifeln, from Middle High German zwīvelen, from Middle High German zwīvel, from Old High German zwīfal, from Proto-West Germanic twīfl, from Proto-Germanic twīflaz, from Proto-Indo-European dwóh₁ — two.
bezweifeln (German): to doubt
Ancestry of “bezweifeln”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | German | zweifeln | to doubt, to be doubtful |
| 2 | Middle High German | zwīvelen | — |
| 3 | Middle High German | zwīvel | — |
| 4 | Old High German | zwīfal | two-fold |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | twīfl | doubt |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | twīflaz | doubt |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | dwóh₁ | two |