Where does “gift” come from?
gift (German) comes from Middle High German gift, from Old High German gift, from Proto-West Germanic *gifti, from Proto-Germanic giftiz, from Proto-Germanic gebaną, from Proto-Indo-European gʰebʰ- — to give.
Ancestry of “gift”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle High German | gift | gift, something given |
| 2 | Old High German | gift | gift |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | *gifti | — |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | giftiz | giving, gift |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | gebaną | to give |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | gʰebʰ- | to give |