Where does “wat” come from?
wat (Middle Low German) comes from Old Saxon hwat, from Proto-West Germanic hwat, from Proto-Germanic hwat, from Proto-Indo-European kʷód, from Proto-Indo-European kʷós — who.
wat (Middle Low German): what
Ancestry of “wat”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old Saxon | hwat | what; lo!, what!, indeed! |
| 2 | Proto-West Germanic | hwat | what |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | hwat | nominative/accusative singular neuter of *hwaz |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | kʷód | what |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | kʷós | who |