Where does “zwielichtig” come from?
zwielichtig (German) comes from German Zwielicht, from German licht, from German Druck, from German drücken, from Middle High German drücken, from Old High German drucchen, from Proto-West Germanic þrukkijan, from Proto-Germanic þrukkijaną — boundary, end.
zwielichtig (German): dubious, shady
Ancestry of “zwielichtig”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | German | Zwielicht | twilight |
| 2 | German | licht | light, bright; unobstructed, clear |
| 3 | German | Druck | pressure; print |
| 4 | German | drücken | to press; to push; to squeeze; to hug; to shirk;... |
| 5 | Middle High German | drücken | — |
| 6 | Old High German | drucchen | to press |
| 7 | Proto-West Germanic | þrukkijan | to press |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | þrukkijaną | to press on; to crowd |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | ter- | tender, weak; young creature |
| 10 | Italian | termine | end, close; limit, term, date, time; term, word |
| 11 | Latin | terminus | a boundary, limit, end |
| 12 | Proto-Italic | termenos | — |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | térmn̥ | boundary, end |