Etymology Explorer › Middle High German

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”

  • keinmal
  • keinerlei
  • kein
Every word from Proto-Germanic nehw ainaz →