Where does “pflücken” come from?
pflücken (Middle High German) comes from Old High German phlucken, from Late Latin piluccare, from Latin pilare, from Latin pilo, from Latin pila, from Latin pīlus, from Latin pīlum, from Proto-Italic pistlom — to grind, to crush.
Ancestry of “pflücken”, step by step
pflücken traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Old High German phlucken
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old High German | phlucken | — |
| 2 | Late Latin | piluccare | — |
| 3 | Latin | pilare | present active infinitive of pilō; second-person... |
| 4 | Latin | pilo | I put forth hairs, grow hairy; I deprive of hair,... |
| 5 | Latin | pila | mortar; pillar; pier |
| 6 | Latin | pīlus | a hair |
| 7 | Latin | pīlum | a pounder, pestle |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | pistlom | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | pis-tlo- | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | peys- | to grind, to crush |