Etymology Explorer › Middle High German

Where does “liegen” come from?

liegen (Middle High German) comes from Old High German liogan, from Proto-West Germanic leugan, from Proto-Germanic leuganą, from Proto-Indo-European lewgʰ- — to lie, to tell falsehood.

Ancestry of “liegen”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old High Germanliogan—
2Proto-West Germanicleuganto lie, to tell a falsehood
3Proto-Germanicleuganąto lie, to tell a falsehood
4Proto-Indo-Europeanlewgʰ-to lie, to tell falsehood

Words derived from “liegen”

  • lügen
  • anlügen
  • umlügen
  • zusammenlügen
  • léien
Every word from Proto-Indo-European lewgʰ- →