Where does “umfallen” come from?
umfallen (German) comes from German fällen, from Middle High German vellen, from Old High German fellen, from Proto-Germanic *fallijan, from Proto-Germanic fallijaną, from Proto-Germanic fallaną, from Proto-Indo-European pōl-, from Slovincian pól — to split off, separate; to chop, to separate.
umfallen (German): to topple, fall down
Ancestry of “umfallen”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | German | fällen | to cut down, to fell; to precipitate; to make |
| 2 | Middle High German | vellen | — |
| 3 | Old High German | fellen | — |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | *fallijan | — |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | fallijaną | to cause to fall, to fell |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | fallaną | to fall |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | pōl- | — |
| 8 | Slovincian | pól | — |
| 9 | Proto-Slavic | polъ | side, flank; half; member of a pair of options →... |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)pelH- | to split off, separate; to chop, to separate |