Where does “*flint” come from?
*flint (Proto-West Germanic) comes from Proto-Germanic flintaz, from Proto-Indo-European splind-, from Proto-Indo-European (s)plei- — to split, splice; to divide, split, splice.
Ancestry of “*flint”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Proto-Germanic | flintaz | — |
| 2 | Proto-Indo-European | splind- | to split, cleave; split |
| 3 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)plei- | to split, splice; to divide, split, splice |