Where does “šlem” come from?

šlem (Serbo-Croatian) comes from German Schleim, from Middle High German slīm, from Old High German slimb, from Proto-West Germanic *slimb, from Proto-Germanic slimbaz, from Proto-Indo-European (s)lemb- — to droop; sag; hang loosely.

šlem (Serbo-Croatian): helmet

Definitions

  1. helmet

Ancestry of “šlem”, step by step

šlem traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via German Schleim

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanSchleimslime; mucus
2Middle High Germanslīm—
3Old High Germanslimb—
4Proto-West Germanic*slimb—
5Proto-Germanicslimbazaslant; sloping; askew; crooked; wrong
6Proto-Indo-European(s)lemb-to droop; sag; hang loosely

via Proto-Slavic šelmъ

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-Slavicšelmъhelmet
2Proto-Germanichelmazhelmet
3Proto-Germanichalmazhalm; stem; stalk; straw; hay
4Proto-Indo-Europeanḱolh₂mosstalk
5Proto-Indo-Europeanḱelh₂-to pierce, strike; to stick; prick; stab
Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)lemb- →Every word from Proto-Germanic slimbaz →Every word from Proto-West Germanic *slimb →