Where does “lichten” come from?
lichten (Middle Dutch) comes from Middle English lihten, from Proto-West Germanic *lį̄htijan, from Proto-Germanic linhtijaną, from Proto-Germanic -janą, from Proto-Indo-European -yéti, from Proto-Indo-European yé-, from Chichewa iye — he, she.
Ancestry of “lichten”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | lihten | — |
| 2 | Proto-West Germanic | *lį̄htijan | to lighten, make weigh less |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | linhtijaną | to make light; to make easy |
| 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 |