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
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old High German | quecsilbar | mercury |
| 2 | Old High German | quec | quick |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | kwik(k)w | alive; lively, quick |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | kwikwaz | alive; lively, quick |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷih₃wós | alive, living |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷeih₃w- | to live |
Words derived from “quecsilber”