Where does “kennen” come from?
kennen (Middle High German) comes from Old High German kennen, from Proto-West Germanic kannijan, from Proto-Germanic kannijaną, from Proto-Indo-European ǵn̥néh₃ti, from Proto-Indo-European ǵneh₃- — to know.
Ancestry of “kennen”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old High German | kennen | — |
| 2 | Proto-West Germanic | kannijan | to know, to be aware of |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | kannijaną | to make known |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵn̥néh₃ti | to know, recognize |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵneh₃- | to know |