Where does “whilk” come from?
whilk (Scots) comes from Middle English whilk, from Old English hwilċ, from Proto-Germanic hwilīkaz, from Proto-Germanic hwaz, from Proto-Indo-European kʷos, from Proto-Indo-European kʷ- — The primary interrogative root.
whilk (Scots): which
Ancestry of “whilk”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | whilk | — |
| 2 | Old English | hwilċ | — |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | hwilīkaz | what kind of, what sort of |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | hwaz | who, what; whose; whom |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | kʷos | See *kʷis |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | kʷ- | The primary interrogative root |