Where does “lagens långa arm” come from?

lagens långa arm (Swedish) comes from Swedish ärm, from Swedish rörelse, from Swedish -else, from Old Saxon -isli, from Proto-West Germanic -islī, from Proto-West Germanic -ī, from Proto-Germanic -į̄, from Proto-Indo-European -íh₂ — Creates collective nouns, which refer to groups...

lagens långa arm (Swedish): the long arm of the law

Definitions

  1. the long arm of the law

Ancestry of “lagens långa arm”, step by step

lagens långa arm traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via Swedish ärm

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Swedishärmsleeve; a part of a garment that covers all or...
2Swedishrörelsemovement; a move between points in space;...
3Swedish-elsecreating nouns from verbs
4Old Saxon-isli
5Proto-West Germanic-islīUsed to form nouns from verbs denoting something...
6Proto-West Germanic-ness, -th
7Proto-Germanic-į̄-th
8Proto-Indo-European-íh₂
9Proto-Indo-European-h₂Creates collective nouns, which refer to groups...

via Swedish langa

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Swedishlangato throw or give something to someone; to buy...
2Germanlangēn
3Middle High Germanlangen
4Old High Germanlangēn
5Proto-West Germanic*langōn
6Proto-GermaniclangōnąTo desire; long for
7Proto-Indo-Europeanlengʷʰ-light, agile, nimble; light, not heavy, agile,...

via Swedish lagens

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Swedishlagens
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -h₂Every word from Proto-Germanic -į̄Every word from Swedish -else