Where does “quälen” come from?

quälen (German) comes from Middle High German queln, from Old High German quellen, from Proto-West Germanic kwalljan, from Proto-Germanic kwaljaną, from Proto-Germanic -janą, from Proto-Indo-European -yéti, from Proto-Indo-European yé-, from Chichewa iye — he, she.

quälen (German): to torture, torment, agonize; to toil, struggle

Definitions

  1. to torture, torment, agonize; to toil, struggle

Ancestry of “quälen”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle High Germanqueln—
2Old High Germanquellen—
3Proto-West Germanickwalljanto make suffer, to hurt
4Proto-Germanickwaljanąto make suffer, to hurt
5Proto-Germanic-janąDerives denominatives from nouns and factitives...
6Proto-Indo-European-yétiCreates intransitive, often deponent,...
7Proto-Indo-Europeanyé-—
8Chichewaiyehe, she

Words derived from “quälen”

Every word from Chichewa iye →Every word from Proto-Germanic -janą →Every word from Proto-Indo-European -yéti →