Etymology Explorer › Middle High German

Where does “gelingen” come from?

gelingen (Middle High German) comes from Old High German gilingan, from Proto-Germanic lingwaną, from Proto-Indo-European h₁lengʷʰ- — light.

Ancestry of “gelingen”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old High Germangilingan—
2Proto-Germaniclingwanąto make progress, succeed
3Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁lengʷʰ-light

Words derived from “gelingen”

  • gelingen
  • geléngen
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁lengʷʰ- →