Where does “verkneifen” come from?

verkneifen (German) comes from German kneifen, from German kneipen, from Middle Low German knīpen, from Old Saxon knīpan, from Proto-West Germanic knīpan, from Proto-Germanic knīpaną, from Proto-Indo-European ǵneybʰ-.

verkneifen (German): to refrain from; to squeeze together

Definitions

  1. to refrain from; to squeeze together

Ancestry of “verkneifen”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germankneifento pinch, to squeeze; to chicken out; to back...
2Germankneipenarchaic or dialectal Northern form of kneifen; to...
3Middle Low Germanknīpento squeeze
4Old Saxonknīpan—
5Proto-West Germanicknīpanto pinch
6Proto-Germanicknīpanąto pinch
7Proto-Indo-Europeanǵneybʰ-—
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ǵneybʰ- →Every word from Proto-Germanic knīpaną →Every word from Proto-West Germanic knīpan →
verkneifen — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer