Where does “táknmál” come from?

táknmál (Icelandic) comes from Icelandic mál, from Icelandic mála, from Old Norse mála, from Middle Low German mālen, from Old Saxon *mālōn, from Proto-West Germanic *mālēn, from Proto-Albanian melana, from Proto-Indo-European melh₂-n- — to strengthen; to bind; to change, exchange.

táknmál (Icelandic): sign language

Definitions

  1. sign language

Ancestry of “táknmál”, step by step

táknmál traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Icelandic mál

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Icelandicmállanguage; speech; matter, affair
2Icelandicmálato paint; indefinite genitive plural of mál
3Old Norsemálato grind
4Middle Low Germanmālento draw, paint; to paint
5Old Saxon*mālōn—
6Proto-West Germanic*mālēnto paint
7Proto-Albanianmelanablack
8Proto-Indo-Europeanmelh₂-n-dull black
9Proto-Indo-Europeanmelh₂-to grind, to crush
10Proto-Indo-Europeanmel-soft; tender; weak; to deceive; to rub
11Proto-Indo-Europeanmey-to strengthen; to bind; to change, exchange

via Icelandic tákn

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Icelandictáknsymbol
2Old Norsetákn—
3Old Englishtācnsign, token; token, sign; sign, marker
4Proto-West Germanictaiknsign, token, symbol
5Proto-Germanictaiknąsign, token, symbol
6Proto-Indo-Europeandeyḱ-to point out
Every word from Proto-Indo-European mey- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European mel- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European melh₂- →