Where does “wal” come from?

wal (Old High German) comes from Proto-West Germanic hwal, from Proto-Germanic hwalaz, from Proto-Indo-European (s)kʷálos — large fish; sheatfish.

wal (Old High German): battlefield

Definitions

  1. battlefield

Ancestry of “wal”, step by step

wal traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Proto-West Germanic hwal

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-West Germanichwalwhale
2Proto-Germanichwalazwhale, sheatfish
3Proto-Indo-European(s)kʷáloslarge fish; sheatfish

via Proto-Germanic walaz

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-Germanicwalazwounded; lich, corpse, dead body; battlefield
2Proto-Indo-Europeanwelh₃-to hit, to strike

Words derived from “wal”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)kʷálos →Every word from Proto-Germanic hwalaz →Every word from Proto-West Germanic hwal →