Where does “quecsilber” come from?

quecsilber (Middle High German) comes from Old High German quecsilbar, from Old High German quec, from Proto-West Germanic kwik(k)w, from Proto-Germanic kwikwaz, from Proto-Indo-European gʷih₃wós, from Proto-Indo-European gʷeih₃w- — to live.

Ancestry of “quecsilber”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old High Germanquecsilbarmercury
2Old High Germanquecquick
3Proto-West Germanickwik(k)walive; lively, quick
4Proto-Germanickwikwazalive; lively, quick
5Proto-Indo-Europeangʷih₃wósalive, living
6Proto-Indo-Europeangʷeih₃w-to live

Words derived from “quecsilber”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European gʷeih₃w- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European gʷih₃wós →Every word from Proto-Germanic kwikwaz →