Etymology Explorer › German

Where does “wählen” come from?

wählen (German) comes from Middle High German weln, from Old High German wellen, from Proto-West Germanic walljan, from Proto-Germanic wiljaną, from Proto-Indo-European wélyoyt, from Proto-Indo-European wélyeti, from Proto-Indo-European welh₁- — to choose; to want.

wählen (German): to choose; to dial; to vote

Definitions

  1. to choose; to dial; to vote

Ancestry of “wählen”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle High Germanweln—
2Old High Germanwellento want; to choose
3Proto-West Germanicwalljanto choose, to pick, to select
4Proto-Germanicwiljanąto want
5Proto-Indo-Europeanwélyoyt—
6Proto-Indo-Europeanwélyeti—
7Proto-Indo-Europeanwelh₁-to choose; to want

Words derived from “wählen”

  • wählbar
  • erwählt
  • erwählen
  • wiederwählen
  • unwählbar
  • auswählen
  • Auswahl
Every word from Proto-Indo-European welh₁- →