Where does “zigtausend” come from?

zigtausend (German) comes from German Tausend, from Middle High German tūsunt, from Old High German dūsunt, from Proto-West Germanic þūsundi, from Proto-Germanic þūsundī, from Proto-Indo-European tuHsont-, from Proto-Indo-European tewh₂- — to swell; to crowd; to be strong.

zigtausend (German): many thousand

Definitions

  1. many thousand

Ancestry of “zigtausend”, step by step

zigtausend traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via German Tausend

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanTausendthousand
2Middle High Germantūsunt—
3Old High Germandūsuntthousand
4Proto-West Germanicþūsundithousand
5Proto-Germanicþūsundīa thousand
6Proto-Indo-EuropeantuHsont-thousand
7Proto-Indo-Europeantewh₂-to swell; to crowd; to be strong

via German zig

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanzigumpteen, tens of, dozens of
2German-zig-ty
Every word from Proto-Indo-European tewh₂- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European tuHsont- →Every word from Proto-Germanic þūsundī →