Where does “fremdschämen” come from?
fremdschämen (German) comes from German Fremdscham, from German fremd, from Middle High German vremde, from Old High German fremidi, from Proto-West Germanic framiþī, from Proto-Germanic framaþiz, from Swedish fram, from Old Norse fram — passed , crossed.
fremdschämen (German): secondhand embarrassment; to feel ashamed about...
Definitions
- secondhand embarrassment; to feel ashamed about...
Ancestry of “fremdschämen”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | German | Fremdscham | shame felt for actions done by someone else;... |
| 2 | German | fremd | strange; foreign; external |
| 3 | Middle High German | vremde | stranger, foreigner; strange, foreign |
| 4 | Old High German | fremidi | — |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | framiþī | foreign, strange |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | framaþiz | foreign, alien, strange |
| 7 | Swedish | fram | forward, in front |
| 8 | Old Norse | fram | forward, forth |
| 9 | Proto-Germanic | fram | from; by, due to; forth, forward |
| 10 | Proto-Germanic | framaz | forward, prominent |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | prom- | forth, forward |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | por- | to give birth; forward, through; going, passage |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 14 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |