Where does “johan” come from?

johan (Malay) comes from Classical Persian جهان, from Old Saxon gehan, from Proto-Germanic *jehan, from Proto-Indo-European yek- — to utter.

johan (Malay): world; champion, hero

Definitions

  1. world; champion, hero

Ancestry of “johan”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Classical Persianجهان—
2Old Saxongehanto confess; to explain
3Proto-Germanic*jehan—
4Proto-Indo-Europeanyek-to utter
Every word from Proto-Indo-European yek- →Every word from Proto-Germanic *jehan →Every word from Old Saxon gehan →