Where does “folgen” come from?
folgen (German) comes from Middle High German volgen, from Old High German folgēn, from Proto-West Germanic folgēn, from Proto-Germanic fulgāną, from Proto-Germanic fullaz, from Proto-Indo-European pl̥h₁nós, from Proto-Indo-European pleh₁- — to fill.
Ancestry of “folgen”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle High German | volgen | — |
| 2 | Old High German | folgēn | to follow |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | folgēn | to follow |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | fulgāną | to follow |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | fullaz | full; the whole, the entire |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | pl̥h₁nós | full |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | pleh₁- | to fill |