Where does “help” come from?

help (Middle English) comes from Old English help, from Proto-West Germanic helpu, from Proto-Germanic helpō, from Proto-Indo-European ḱelb- — help.

Ancestry of “help”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishhelphelp
2Proto-West Germanichelpu
3Proto-Germanichelpōhelp, aid, assistance
4Proto-Indo-Europeanḱelb-help

Words derived from “help

Every word from Proto-Indo-European ḱelb-