Where does “kein” come from?

kein (Middle High German) comes from Middle High German nechein, from Old High German nihein, from Proto-Germanic nehw ainaz — nor one.

Ancestry of “kein”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle High Germannechein—
2Old High Germanniheinno
3Proto-Germanicnehw ainaznor one

Words derived from “kein”

Every word from Proto-Germanic nehw ainaz →Every word from Old High German nihein →Every word from Middle High German nechein →