Where does “kläglich” come from?

kläglich (German) comes from German -lich, from Middle High German -lich, from Old High German -līh, from Proto-Germanic *-līk.

kläglich (German): pitiful, pathetic; miserable

Definitions

  1. pitiful, pathetic; miserable

Ancestry of “kläglich”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1German-lichan adjectival suffix; an adverbial suffix
2Middle High German-lich-ly
3Old High German-līh—
4Proto-Germanic*-līk—
Every word from Proto-Germanic *-līk →Every word from German -lich →Every word from Middle High German -lich →