Where does “freischalten” come from?

freischalten (German) comes from German frei, from Middle High German vrî, from Old High German frī, from Proto-West Germanic frī, from Proto-Germanic frijaz, from Proto-Indo-European priHós, from Proto-Indo-European preyH- — to love, to please.

freischalten (German): to activate, to unlock

Definitions

  1. to activate, to unlock

Ancestry of “freischalten”, step by step

freischalten traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via German frei

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanfreifree; unenslaved; unimprisoned; free;...
2Middle High Germanvrî—
3Old High Germanfrīfree
4Proto-West Germanicfrīfree
5Proto-Germanicfrijazfree
6Proto-Indo-EuropeanpriHósdear, beloved; happy, free
7Proto-Indo-EuropeanpreyH-to love, to please

via German schalten

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanschaltento switch
2Middle High Germanschalten—
3Old High Germanscaltanto push a ship forward
4Proto-Germanicskaldanąto knock, hit

Words derived from “freischalten”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European preyH- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European priHós →Every word from Proto-Germanic frijaz →