Where does “-īn” come from?
-īn (Old High German) comes from Proto-Germanic -īnaz, from Proto-Indo-European -iHnos, from Proto-Indo-European -no- — adjectival suffix.
Ancestry of “-īn”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Proto-Germanic | -īnaz | -en |
| 2 | Proto-Indo-European | -iHnos | Creates adjectives of materials |
| 3 | Proto-Indo-European | -no- | adjectival suffix |