Where does “hellwach” come from?

hellwach (German) comes from German hell, from Middle High German hel, from Old High German hel, from Proto-Germanic halliz, from Proto-Germanic hellaną, from Proto-Indo-European ḱelh₁- — to warm up, to be hot; to warm up, be hot.

hellwach (German): wide awake

Definitions

  1. wide awake

Ancestry of “hellwach”, step by step

hellwach traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via German hell

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanhellclear, bright, light
2Middle High Germanhelresounding, loud, shining, bright; tired, weak
3Old High Germanhelresounding
4Proto-Germanichallizresounding
5Proto-Germanichellanąto resound, make a sound
6Proto-Indo-Europeanḱelh₁-to warm up, to be hot; to warm up, be hot

via German wach

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanwachawake
2Germanwacheinflection of wachen: ## first-person singular...
3Middle High Germanwache
4Old High Germanwacha
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ḱelh₁-