Where does “-en” come from?

-en (Middle High German) comes from Old High German -īn, from Proto-Germanic -īnaz, from Proto-Indo-European -iHnos, from Proto-Indo-European -no- — adjectival suffix.

Ancestry of “-en”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old High German-īn—
2Proto-Germanic-īnaz-en
3Proto-Indo-European-iHnosCreates adjectives of materials
4Proto-Indo-European-no-adjectival suffix

Words derived from “-en”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European -no- →Every word from Proto-Germanic -īnaz →Every word from Proto-Indo-European -iHnos →