Where does “fist” come from?
fist (Middle English) comes from Old English fȳst, from Proto-West Germanic fūsti, from Proto-Germanic funstiz, from Proto-Indo-European pnsti-, from Proto-Indo-European pnksti-, from Proto-Indo-European pénkʷe — five.
Ancestry of “fist”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old English | fȳst | fist |
| 2 | Proto-West Germanic | fūsti | fist |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | funstiz | fist |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | pnsti- | — |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | pnksti- | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | pénkʷe | five |
Words derived from “fist”