Where does “hen” come from?
hen (Norwegian Bokmål) comes from Middle Low German hen, from Proto-Germanic *hiz, from Proto-Indo-European ḱe, from Middle English kyt, from German kitt, from Old High German kuti, from Proto-West Germanic kwidu, from Proto-Germanic kweduz — to bend; curve; arch; vault; to bow, bend, arch,...
Ancestry of “hen”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle Low German | hen | — |
| 2 | Proto-Germanic | *hiz | — |
| 3 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱe | Deictic particle, here; Post-positional... |
| 4 | Middle English | kyt | — |
| 5 | German | kitt | — |
| 6 | Old High German | kuti | — |
| 7 | Proto-West Germanic | kwidu | gum, resin |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | kweduz | resin |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷet- | resin, gum; to say, speak |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | gū- | to bend; curve; arch; vault; to bow, bend, arch,... |