Etymology Explorer › German

Where does “hinken” come from?

hinken (German) comes from Middle High German hinken, from Old High German hinkan, from Proto-West Germanic hinkan, from Proto-Germanic hinkaną, from Proto-Indo-European (s)keng- — to limp, hobble; to tilt, be askew.

hinken (German): to limp, to hobble

Definitions

  1. to limp, to hobble

Ancestry of “hinken”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle High Germanhinken—
2Old High Germanhinkanto limp
3Proto-West Germanichinkanto limp, to hobble
4Proto-Germanichinkanąto limp, to hobble
5Proto-Indo-European(s)keng-to limp, hobble; to tilt, be askew

Words derived from “hinken”

  • hinke
Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)keng- →