Where does “hwat” come from?

hwat (Old Saxon) comes from Proto-West Germanic hwat, from Proto-Germanic hwat, from Proto-Indo-European kʷód, from Proto-Indo-European kʷós — who.

hwat (Old Saxon): what; lo!, what!, indeed!

Definitions

  1. what; lo!, what!, indeed!

Ancestry of “hwat”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-West Germanichwatwhat
2Proto-Germanichwatnominative/accusative singular neuter of *hwaz
3Proto-Indo-Europeankʷódwhat
4Proto-Indo-Europeankʷóswho

Words derived from “hwat”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European kʷós →Every word from Proto-Indo-European kʷód →Every word from Proto-Germanic hwat →