Where does “farbenfroh” come from?

farbenfroh (German) comes from German farbe, from Middle High German varwe, from Old High German farawa, from Proto-West Germanic faru, from Proto-Germanic farwō, from Proto-Indo-European perḱ-, from Proto-Indo-European per-, from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós — passed , crossed.

farbenfroh (German): colourful

Definitions

  1. colourful

Ancestry of “farbenfroh”, step by step

farbenfroh traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via German farbe

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanfarbecolour
2Middle High Germanvarwecolor, hue
3Old High Germanfarawacolour, blee; color
4Proto-West Germanicfarucolor; appearance; journey
5Proto-Germanicfarwōcolour
6Proto-Indo-Europeanperḱ-colored; motley; to open, rip up
7Proto-Indo-Europeanper-before, in front; first; to go through
8Proto-Indo-Europeanpr̥tóspassed , crossed

via German froh

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanfrohglad; happy; cheerful; merry; merry; hearty;...
2Middle High Germanvrō
3Old High Germanfraoglad; lord
4Proto-Germanicfrawazhappy; energetic
5Proto-Indo-Europeanprew-to jump
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós