Where does “gå åt helvete” come from?

gå åt helvete (Swedish) comes from Swedish åt, from Old Norse át, from Proto-Germanic at, from Proto-Germanic ētą, from Proto-Germanic etaną, from Proto-Indo-European h₁édti, from Proto-Indo-European h₁ed- — to eat.

gå åt helvete (Swedish): to go to hell, to go to shit

Definitions

  1. to go to hell, to go to shit

Ancestry of “gå åt helvete”, step by step

gå åt helvete traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via Swedish åt

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Swedishåtfor; to, towards, in a certain direction
2Old Norseátthe act of eating; food; first-person singular...
3Proto-Germanicatat, toward, to
4Proto-Germanicētąthe act of eating; food
5Proto-Germanicetanąto eat
6Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁édtito eat
7Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁ed-to eat

via Swedish gå

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Swedishgågo, walk, stroll; go, leave; go; to be given or...
2Old Swedishgā—
3Old Norsegábarking; attention; to heed
4Old Norsegeyjato bark
5Proto-Germanic*gawjanąto bark

via Swedish helvete

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1SwedishhelveteHell; the place where sinners are said to go...
2Old Norsehelvítihell
3Old Norsevitiindicator; token, mark, signal; beacon
4Proto-Germanicwītijąpunishment
5Proto-Indo-Europeanweyd-to see
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁ed- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁édti →Every word from Proto-Germanic etaną →