Etymology Explorer › German

Where does “selten” come from?

selten (German) comes from Middle High German selten, from Old High German seltan, from Proto-Germanic seldana, from Proto-Germanic seldanē, from Proto-Germanic seldanaz — rare, strange.

selten (German): rare, infrequent, uncommon, scarce; unusual,...

Definitions

  1. rare, infrequent, uncommon, scarce; unusual,...

Ancestry of “selten”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle High Germanselten—
2Old High Germanseltan—
3Proto-Germanicseldana—
4Proto-Germanicseldanēseldom; rarely
5Proto-Germanicseldanazrare, strange

Words derived from “selten”

  • Seltenheit
  • Seltenerdmetall
  • Seltenerdmagnet
  • Seltenerde
Every word from Proto-Germanic seldanaz →