Where does “handsprengja” come from?
handsprengja (Icelandic) comes from Icelandic sprengja, from Old Norse sprengja, from Proto-Germanic sprangijaną, from Proto-Germanic -janą, from Proto-Indo-European -yéti, from Proto-Indo-European yé-, from Chichewa iye — he, she.
handsprengja (Icelandic): a grenade
Ancestry of “handsprengja”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Icelandic | sprengja | a bomb; to blow up; to detonate |
| 2 | Old Norse | sprengja | — |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | sprangijaną | to cause to spring; to cause to burst, to blow up |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | -janą | Derives denominatives from nouns and factitives... |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | -yéti | Creates intransitive, often deponent,... |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | yé- | — |
| 7 | Chichewa | iye | he, she |