Where does “clagen” come from?
clagen (Middle Dutch) comes from Old Dutch clagon, from Old Saxon klagon, from Proto-Germanic klagōną, from Proto-Germanic -ōną, from Proto-Indo-European -eh₂yéti, from Proto-Indo-European -yéti, from Proto-Indo-European yé-, from Chichewa iye — he, she.
Ancestry of “clagen”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old Dutch | clagon | to complain |
| 2 | Old Saxon | klagon | — |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | klagōną | to wail, to yammer, to lament; to complain |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | -ōną | Creates denominative verbs from nouns; Creates... |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | -eh₂yéti | Creates iterative/ frequentative/ intensive... |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -yéti | Creates intransitive, often deponent,... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | yé- | — |
| 8 | Chichewa | iye | he, she |