Where does “totschweigen” come from?
totschweigen (German) comes from German Schweigen, from Middle High German swīgen, from Old High German swīgēn, from Proto-West Germanic swīgēn, from Proto-West Germanic -ēn, from Proto-Germanic -āną, from Proto-Germanic -ajaną, from Proto-Indo-European -oyéti — he, she.
totschweigen (German): to hush up, keep secret
Definitions
- to hush up, keep secret
Ancestry of “totschweigen”, step by step
totschweigen traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via German Schweigen
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | German | Schweigen | silence |
| 2 | Middle High German | swīgen | not to speak, to be silent |
| 3 | Old High German | swīgēn | — |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | swīgēn | to be silent |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | -ēn | Creates denominative verbs from nouns; Creates... |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | -āną | Creates factitive verbs from adjectives, later... |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | -ajaną | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -oyéti | Creates factitive verbs from adjectives |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -yéti | Creates intransitive, often deponent,... |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | yé- | — |
| 11 | Chichewa | iye | he, she |