Where does “þurhgan” come from?

þurhgan (Old English) comes from Old English gān, from Proto-West Germanic gān, from Proto-Germanic gāną, from Proto-Indo-European ǵʰengʰ- — to walk; to step.

þurhgan (Old English): to go over or go through, pierce (by weapon), penetrate, permeate, pervade

Definitions

  1. to go over or go through, pierce (by weapon), penetrate, permeate, pervade

Ancestry of “þurhgan”, step by step

þurhgan traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Old English gān

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishgānto go
2Proto-West Germanicgānto go
3Proto-Germanicgānąto go, walk
4Proto-Indo-Europeanǵʰengʰ-to walk; to step

via Old English þurh

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old EnglishþurhAPI; through; by means of: by, through, via
2Proto-Germanicþurhwthrough
3Proto-Indo-Europeantr̥h₂kʷe—
4Proto-Indo-Europeanterh₂-to cross over, pass through, overcome
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ǵʰengʰ- →Every word from Proto-Germanic gāną →Every word from Proto-West Germanic gān →