Where does “merke” come from?
merke (Middle English) comes from Old Norse myrkr, from Proto-Germanic merkuz, from Proto-Indo-European mergʷ- — dark, coloured; to flicker; to darken; to be dark.
Ancestry of “merke”, step by step
merke traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Old Norse myrkr
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old Norse | myrkr | dark, murky |
| 2 | Proto-Germanic | merkuz | dark |
| 3 | Proto-Indo-European | mergʷ- | dark, coloured; to flicker; to darken; to be dark |
via Old English mirce
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old English | mirce | murky, dark in color |