Where does “-ich” come from?

-ich (Pennsylvania German) comes from Middle High German -ec, from Old High German -ig, from Proto-West Germanic -g, from Proto-Germanic -gaz, from Proto-Indo-European -ḱos — -y, -ic.

-ich (Pennsylvania German): -y

Definitions

  1. -y

Ancestry of “-ich”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle High German-ec—
2Old High German-ig—
3Proto-West Germanic-gForms adjectives from nouns and verbs with a...
4Proto-Germanic-gaz-y
5Proto-Indo-European-ḱos-y, -ic

Words derived from “-ich”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European -ḱos →Every word from Proto-Germanic -gaz →Every word from Proto-West Germanic -g →