Where does “smerten” come from?

smerten (Middle Low German) comes from Old Dutch smertan, from Proto-Germanic smertaną, from Proto-Indo-European (s)merd- — to bite, to sting.

Ancestry of “smerten”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Dutchsmertan—
2Proto-Germanicsmertanąto hurt
3Proto-Indo-European(s)merd-to bite, to sting
Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)merd- →Every word from Proto-Germanic smertaną →Every word from Old Dutch smertan →
smerten — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer