Where does “hälft” come from?

hälft (Swedish) comes from Old Norse helft, from Proto-Germanic halbiþō, from Proto-Germanic halbaz, from Proto-Indo-European (s)kelH-, from Proto-Indo-European (s)kel- — to bend, crook; bent, crooked; leg, heel, knee,...

hälft (Swedish): half, one of two roughly equal parts

Definitions

  1. half, one of two roughly equal parts

Ancestry of “hälft”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Norsehelft—
2Proto-Germanichalbiþōhalf
3Proto-Germanichalbazhalf
4Proto-Indo-European(s)kelH-to cut; to split, to separate
5Proto-Indo-European(s)kel-to bend, crook; bent, crooked; leg, heel, knee,...
Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)kel- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)kelH- →Every word from Proto-Germanic halbaz →