Where does “söndra och härska” come from?
söndra och härska (Swedish) comes from Swedish och, from Old Swedish ock, from Old Norse ok, from Old Norse svá, from Proto-Germanic swa, from Proto-Germanic swē, from Proto-Indo-European swē — self (reflexive pronoun).
söndra och härska (Swedish): to divide and conquer
Definitions
- to divide and conquer
Ancestry of “söndra och härska”, step by step
söndra och härska traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via Swedish och
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Swedish | och | and; used to connect two homogeneous words or... |
| 2 | Old Swedish | ock | — |
| 3 | Old Norse | ok | and; also, too; yoke |
| 4 | Old Norse | svá | so |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | swa | so, thus, in this manner |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | swē | like, similar to; just like, in the same manner... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | swē | self (reflexive pronoun) |
via Swedish härska
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Swedish | härska | to rule; to reign |
| 2 | German | herrschen | to rule, to reign, to have dominion; to prevail,... |
| 3 | Middle High German | hērschen | — |
| 4 | Old High German | hērisōn | — |
via Swedish söndra
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Swedish | söndra | to divide (cause division/disagreement within) |