Etymology Explorer › Old High German

Where does “phaffo” come from?

phaffo (Old High German) comes from Gothic 𐍀𐌰𐍀𐌰, from Ancient Greek παπᾶς, from Old Norse súla, from Proto-Germanic sūliz, from Proto-Indo-European ḱsewl-, from Proto-Indo-European ḱsew-.

Ancestry of “phaffo”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Gothic𐍀𐌰𐍀𐌰priest, clergyman
2Ancient Greekπαπᾶςpriest
3Old Norsesúla—
4Proto-Germanicsūlizbeam, post; column, pillar
5Proto-Indo-Europeanḱsewl-—
6Proto-Indo-Europeanḱsew-—

Words derived from “phaffo”

  • Pfaffe
  • pfaffe
  • Paf
  • faff
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ḱsew- →