Where does “merken” come from?
merken (Middle High German) comes from Old High German merchen, from Proto-West Germanic *markijan, from Proto-Germanic markijaną, from Proto-Germanic -janą, from Proto-Indo-European -yéti, from Proto-Indo-European yé-, from Chichewa iye — he, she.
Ancestry of “merken”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old High German | merchen | — |
| 2 | Proto-West Germanic | *markijan | to mark |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | markijaną | to mark; to perceive, notice |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | -janą | Derives denominatives from nouns and factitives... |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | -yéti | Creates intransitive, often deponent,... |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | yé- | — |
| 7 | Chichewa | iye | he, she |