Etymology Explorer › German

Where does “mistel” come from?

mistel (German) comes from Middle High German mistel, from Old High German mistil, from Proto-West Germanic mistil, from Proto-Germanic mistilaz, from Proto-Indo-European sed- — to sit.

Ancestry of “mistel”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle High Germanmistel—
2Old High Germanmistil—
3Proto-West Germanicmistilmistletoe
4Proto-Germanicmistilazmistletoe
5Proto-Indo-Europeansed-to sit
Every word from Proto-Indo-European sed- →