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
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old High German | winken | — |
| 2 | Proto-West Germanic | winkijan | to bend, flex |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | winkōn | to blink, wink, close one's eyes; to wave, nod |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | -ōn | Creates denominative verbs from nouns; Creates... |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | -ōną | Creates denominative verbs from nouns; Creates... |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -eh₂yéti | Creates iterative/ frequentative/ intensive... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -yéti | Creates intransitive, often deponent,... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | yé- | — |
| 9 | Chichewa | iye | he, she |