Where does “hvem” come from?
hvem (Norwegian Bokmål) comes from Danish hvem, from Old Norse hveim, from Proto-Germanic hwammai, from Proto-Germanic hwaz, from Proto-Indo-European kʷos, from Proto-Indo-European kʷ- — The primary interrogative root.
hvem (Norwegian Bokmål): who; who, whom; (dialectal which
Definitions
- who; who, whom; (dialectal which
Ancestry of “hvem”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Danish | hvem | who; who, that |
| 2 | Old Norse | hveim | — |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | hwammai | masculine/neuter dative of *hwaz |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | hwaz | who, what; whose; whom |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | kʷos | See *kʷis |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | kʷ- | The primary interrogative root |