Etymology Explorer › German

Where does “gelingen” come from?

gelingen (German) comes from Middle High German gelingen, from Old High German gilingan, from Proto-Germanic lingwaną, from Proto-Indo-European h₁lengʷʰ- — light.

gelingen (German): to succeed

Definitions

  1. to succeed

Ancestry of “gelingen”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle High Germangelingen—
2Old High Germangilingan—
3Proto-Germaniclingwanąto make progress, succeed
4Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁lengʷʰ-light
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁lengʷʰ- →