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
- to refrain from; to squeeze together
Ancestry of “verkneifen”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | German | kneifen | to pinch, to squeeze; to chicken out; to back... |
| 2 | German | kneipen | archaic or dialectal Northern form of kneifen; to... |
| 3 | Middle Low German | knīpen | to squeeze |
| 4 | Old Saxon | knīpan | — |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | knīpan | to pinch |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | knīpaną | to pinch |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵneybʰ- | — |