Etymology Explorer › German

Where does “schleichen” come from?

schleichen (German) comes from Middle High German slīchen, from Old High German slīhhan, from Proto-West Germanic *slīkan, from Proto-Germanic slīkaną, from Proto-Indo-European sleyǵ- — to glide, smooth, spread; to smear; to creep; to...

schleichen (German): to move in a quiet and inconspicuous manner,...

Definitions

  1. to move in a quiet and inconspicuous manner,...

Ancestry of “schleichen”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle High Germanslīchen—
2Old High Germanslīhhanto creep
3Proto-West Germanic*slīkan—
4Proto-Germanicslīkanąto slide, to slip
5Proto-Indo-Europeansleyǵ-to glide, smooth, spread; to smear; to creep; to...
Every word from Proto-Indo-European sleyǵ- →