Where does “līchname” come from?
līchname (Middle High German) comes from Old High German līhhinhamo, from Proto-Germanic *līkahamō, from Proto-Germanic līkahamô, from Proto-Germanic hamô, from Proto-Indo-European ḱem- — to cover, conceal; hornless.
Ancestry of “līchname”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old High German | līhhinhamo | — |
| 2 | Proto-Germanic | *līkahamō | the human body; bodily frame |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | līkahamô | the human body; bodily frame; corpse |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | hamô | cover, skin; clothes, skirt, fishnet; harness,... |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱem- | to cover, conceal; hornless |