Etymology Explorer › German

Where does “graben” come from?

graben (German) comes from Middle High German graben, from Old High German graban, from Proto-West Germanic graban, from Proto-Germanic grabaną, from Proto-Indo-European gʰrābʰ- — to dig, scratch, scrape.

graben (German): to dig; to burrow

Definitions

  1. to dig; to burrow

Ancestry of “graben”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle High Germangraben—
2Old High Germangraban—
3Proto-West Germanicgrabanto dig; to engrave
4Proto-Germanicgrabanąto dig; to engrave, scratch
5Proto-Indo-Europeangʰrābʰ-to dig, scratch, scrape

Words derived from “graben”

  • graben
  • vergraben
  • ausgraben
  • Orchestergraben
  • Graben
  • Röstigraben
  • graba
Every word from Proto-Indo-European gʰrābʰ- →