Where does “schamhaft” come from?
schamhaft (German) comes from German Scham, from Middle High German schame, from Old High German scama, from Proto-West Germanic *skamu, from Proto-Germanic skamō, from Proto-Indo-European (s)ḱeh₃- — darkness, shadow.
schamhaft (German): modest, bashful, coy
Ancestry of “schamhaft”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | German | Scham | shame; bashfulness, prudishness, shamefacedness;... |
| 2 | Middle High German | schame | — |
| 3 | Old High German | scama | — |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | *skamu | — |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | skamō | shame |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)ḱeh₃- | darkness, shadow |