Where does “gegenzeichnen” come from?

gegenzeichnen (German) comes from German zeichnen, from German Zeichen, from Middle High German zeichen, from Old High German zeihhan, from Proto-West Germanic taikn, from Proto-Germanic taikną, from Proto-Indo-European deyḱ- — to point out.

gegenzeichnen (German): to countersign

Definitions

  1. to countersign

Ancestry of “gegenzeichnen”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanzeichnento draw
2GermanZeichencharacters, marks, sign; token
3Middle High Germanzeichen—
4Old High Germanzeihhansign, symbol, feature; sign, symbol
5Proto-West Germanictaiknsign, token, symbol
6Proto-Germanictaiknąsign, token, symbol
7Proto-Indo-Europeandeyḱ-to point out

Words derived from “gegenzeichnen”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European deyḱ- →Every word from Proto-Germanic taikną →Every word from Proto-West Germanic taikn →