Where does “buchstäblich” come from?

buchstäblich (German) comes from German -lich, from Middle High German -lich, from Old High German -līh, from Proto-Germanic *-līk.

buchstäblich (German): literal; literally

Definitions

  1. literal; literally

Ancestry of “buchstäblich”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1German-lichan adjectival suffix; an adverbial suffix
2Middle High German-lich-ly
3Old High German-līh—
4Proto-Germanic*-līk—
Every word from Proto-Germanic *-līk →Every word from German -lich →Every word from Middle High German -lich →