Where does “kennenlernen” come from?
kennenlernen (German) comes from German kennen, from Middle High German kennen, from Old High German kennen, from Proto-West Germanic kannijan, from Proto-Germanic kannijaną, from Proto-Indo-European ǵn̥néh₃ti, from Proto-Indo-European ǵneh₃- — to know.
kennenlernen (German): to get to know, become acquainted with (a person, place, thing); to befriend
Definitions
- to get to know, become acquainted with (a person, place, thing); to befriend
Ancestry of “kennenlernen”, step by step
kennenlernen traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via German kennen
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | German | kennen | to know; to be acquainted with; to be familiar... |
| 2 | Middle High German | kennen | to know |
| 3 | Old High German | kennen | to know, to be aware of |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | kannijan | to know, to be aware of |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | kannijaną | to make known |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵn̥néh₃ti | to know, recognize |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵneh₃- | to know |