Where does “spīwen” come from?
spīwen (Middle High German) comes from Old High German spīwan, from Proto-West Germanic *spīwan, from Proto-Germanic spīwaną, from Proto-Indo-European (s)ptyēw- — to spit, vomit.
Ancestry of “spīwen”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old High German | spīwan | — |
| 2 | Proto-West Germanic | *spīwan | — |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | spīwaną | to spew, to spit |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)ptyēw- | to spit, vomit |