Where does “lesen” come from?

lesen (German) comes from Middle High German lesen, from Old High German lesan, from Proto-West Germanic *lesan, from Proto-Germanic lesaną, from Proto-Indo-European les- — to gather, to collect.

lesen (German): to read; to select and gather or harvest

Definitions

  1. to read; to select and gather or harvest

Ancestry of “lesen”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle High Germanlesento read, to read aloud
2Old High Germanlesanto read, to read aloud; to examine; to collect
3Proto-West Germanic*lesan—
4Proto-Germaniclesanąto gather, collect
5Proto-Indo-Europeanles-to gather, to collect

Words derived from “lesen”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European les- →Every word from Proto-Germanic lesaną →Every word from Proto-West Germanic *lesan →