Where does “stummschalten” come from?

stummschalten (German) comes from German stumm, from Middle High German stum, from Old High German stum, from Proto-Germanic stummaz, from Proto-Indo-European stm̥Hnós, from Proto-Indo-European stemH- — to push, inhibit, stutter, stammer.

stummschalten (German): to mute to turn off the sound of an electronic device, such as a smartphone or TV

Definitions

  1. to mute to turn off the sound of an electronic device, such as a smartphone or TV

Ancestry of “stummschalten”, step by step

stummschalten traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via German stumm

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanstummmute; dumb unable to speak
2Middle High Germanstum—
3Old High Germanstum—
4Proto-Germanicstummazmute
5Proto-Indo-Europeanstm̥Hnós—
6Proto-Indo-EuropeanstemH-to push, inhibit, stutter, stammer

via German schalten

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanschaltento switch
2Middle High Germanschalten—
3Old High Germanscaltanto push a ship forward
4Proto-Germanicskaldanąto knock, hit
Every word from Proto-Indo-European stemH- →