Where does “kniepen” come from?
kniepen (German) comes from German Low German kniepen, from Middle Low German knīpen, from Old Saxon knīpan, from Proto-West Germanic knīpan, from Proto-Germanic knīpaną, from Proto-Indo-European ǵneybʰ-.
kniepen (German): to blink
Ancestry of “kniepen”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | German Low German | kniepen | to squeeze; to blink |
| 2 | Middle Low German | knīpen | to squeeze |
| 3 | Old Saxon | knīpan | — |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | knīpan | to pinch |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | knīpaną | to pinch |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵneybʰ- | — |