Where does “akilleshæl” come from?
akilleshæl (Norwegian Bokmål) comes from Norwegian Bokmål hæl, from Old Norse hæll, from Proto-Germanic hanhilaz, from Proto-Germanic hanhaz, from Proto-Indo-European ḱenk- — to hang.
akilleshæl (Norwegian Bokmål): an Achilles heel
Ancestry of “akilleshæl”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Norwegian Bokmål | hæl | a heel |
| 2 | Old Norse | hæll | heel |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | hanhilaz | heel |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | hanhaz | heel |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱenk- | to hang |