Where does “hva” come from?
hva (Norwegian Bokmål) comes from Danish hvad, from Old Norse hvat, from Proto-Germanic hwat, from Proto-Indo-European kʷód, from Proto-Indo-European kʷós — who.
hva (Norwegian Bokmål): what
Ancestry of “hva”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Danish | hvad | what; what , which |
| 2 | Old Norse | hvat | what |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | hwat | nominative/accusative singular neuter of *hwaz |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | kʷód | what |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | kʷós | who |