Where does “zwölfeinhalb” come from?
zwölfeinhalb (German) comes from German halb, from Middle High German halp, from Old High German halb, from Proto-West Germanic halb, from Proto-Germanic halbaz, from Proto-Indo-European (s)kelH-, from Proto-Indo-European (s)kel- — to bend, crook; bent, crooked; leg, heel, knee,...
zwölfeinhalb (German): twelve and a half
Definitions
- twelve and a half
Ancestry of “zwölfeinhalb”, step by step
zwölfeinhalb traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via German halb
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | German | halb | half, halfway; a half-hour before, thirty minutes... |
| 2 | Middle High German | halp | — |
| 3 | Old High German | halb | — |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | halb | half |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | halbaz | half |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)kelH- | to cut; to split, to separate |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)kel- | to bend, crook; bent, crooked; leg, heel, knee,... |