Where does “hellehund” come from?

hellehund (Old English) comes from Old English hund, from Proto-West Germanic hund, from Proto-Germanic hundaz, from Proto-Indo-European ḱwn̥tós, from Proto-Indo-European ḱwṓ — dog.

hellehund (Old English): hellhound

Definitions

  1. hellhound

Ancestry of “hellehund”, step by step

hellehund traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Old English hund

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishhunddog; hundred
2Proto-West Germanichunddog
3Proto-Germanichundazdog
4Proto-Indo-Europeanḱwn̥tós—
5Proto-Indo-Europeanḱwṓdog

via Old English helle

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishhellenether world, abode of the dead, hell
2Proto-Germanichaljōthe netherworld, the underworld, hell
3Proto-Indo-Europeanḱel-to cover; to incline
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ḱwṓ →Every word from Proto-Indo-European ḱwn̥tós →Every word from Proto-Germanic hundaz →