Etymology Explorer › German

Where does “kau” come from?

kau (German) comes from German kauen, from Middle High German kūwen, from Old High German kūwen, from Proto-West Germanic keuwan, from Proto-Germanic kewwaną, from Proto-Indo-European ǵyewh₁- — to chew.

kau (German): singular imperative of kauen

Definitions

  1. singular imperative of kauen

Ancestry of “kau”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germankauento chew
2Middle High Germankūwen—
3Old High Germankūwen—
4Proto-West Germanickeuwanto chew
5Proto-Germanickewwanąto chew
6Proto-Indo-Europeanǵyewh₁-to chew
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ǵyewh₁- →