Where does “verstaen” come from?

verstaen (Middle Dutch) comes from Old Dutch farstān, from Old Dutch far-, from Proto-Germanic fra-, from Proto-Indo-European pro-, from Proto-Indo-European por-, from Proto-Indo-European per-, from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós — passed , crossed.

verstaen (Middle Dutch): to be responsible for; to understand; to hear

Definitions

  1. to be responsible for; to understand; to hear

Ancestry of “verstaen”, step by step

verstaen traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Old Dutch farstān

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Dutchfarstānto understand
2Old Dutchfar-—
3Proto-Germanicfra-off, away; completely, fully, up
4Proto-Indo-Europeanpro-toward, forward
5Proto-Indo-Europeanpor-to give birth; forward, through; going, passage
6Proto-Indo-Europeanper-before, in front; first; to go through
7Proto-Indo-Europeanpr̥tóspassed , crossed

via Middle Dutch stâen

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Dutchstâento stand
2Old DutchstānTo stand
3Proto-West Germanicstānto stand
4Proto-Germanicstānąto stand
5Proto-Indo-European*steh₂-—

Words derived from “verstaen”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós →Every word from Proto-Indo-European per- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European por- →