Where does “никак” come from?

никак (Russian) comes from Russian как, from Old East Slavic како, from Proto-Slavic kako, from Proto-Slavic kakъ, from Proto-Balto-Slavic *kōkos.

никак (Russian): by no means, not at all, in no way, nowise

Definitions

  1. by no means, not at all, in no way, nowise

Ancestry of “никак”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Russianкакhow; what; as, however much
2Old East Slavicкакоhow, in which way
3Proto-Slavickakohow, in which way
4Proto-Slavickakъof what/which kind
5Proto-Balto-Slavic*kōkos—
Every word from Proto-Balto-Slavic *kōkos →Every word from Proto-Slavic kakъ →Every word from Proto-Slavic kako →
никак — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer