Where does “spitzfindig” come from?
spitzfindig (German) comes from German findig, from German -ig, from German -jährig, from German Jahr, from Middle High German jār, from Old High German jār, from Proto-West Germanic jār, from Proto-Germanic jērą — year.
spitzfindig (German): captious, quibbling, pedantic
Definitions
- captious, quibbling, pedantic
Ancestry of “spitzfindig”, step by step
spitzfindig traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via German findig
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | German | findig | resourceful |
| 2 | German | -ig | -y; forms adjectives from nouns; forms adjectives... |
| 3 | German | -jährig | years old; years lasting |
| 4 | German | Jahr | year |
| 5 | Middle High German | jār | year |
| 6 | Old High German | jār | year |
| 7 | Proto-West Germanic | jār | year |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | jērą | year; name of the J-rune |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | yeh₁r- | year |