Etymology Explorer › Middle High German

Where does “winken” come from?

winken (Middle High German) comes from Old High German winken, from Proto-West Germanic winkijan, from Proto-West Germanic winkōn, from Proto-West Germanic -ōn, from Proto-Germanic -ōną, from Proto-Indo-European -eh₂yéti, from Proto-Indo-European -yéti, from Proto-Indo-European yé- — he, she.

Ancestry of “winken”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old High Germanwinken—
2Proto-West Germanicwinkijan—
3Proto-West Germanicwinkōnto blink, wink, close one's eyes; to wave, nod
4Proto-West Germanic-ōnCreates denominative verbs from nouns; Creates...
5Proto-Germanic-ōnąCreates denominative verbs from nouns; Creates...
6Proto-Indo-European-eh₂yétiCreates iterative/ frequentative/ intensive...
7Proto-Indo-European-yétiCreates intransitive, often deponent,...
8Proto-Indo-Europeanyé-—
9Chichewaiyehe, she

Words derived from “winken”

  • Wink
  • winken
  • wink
  • wénken
Every word from Chichewa iye →