Where does “-än” come from?

-än (Volapük) comes from Volapük län, from German land, from Middle High German lant, from Old High German lant, from Proto-West Germanic land, from Proto-Germanic landą, from Proto-Indo-European lendʰ- — land, heath; loins.

-än (Volapük): used as the suffix for a country, land (in its multiple senses), notional land

Definitions

  1. used as the suffix for a country, land (in its multiple senses), notional land

Ancestry of “-än”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Volapükläncountry
2Germanlandcountry territory of a nation
3Middle High Germanlantland; country
4Old High Germanlantland; country
5Proto-West Germaniclandland, area of ground
6Proto-Germaniclandąland, area of ground
7Proto-Indo-Europeanlendʰ-land, heath; loins

Words derived from “-än”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European lendʰ- →Every word from Proto-Germanic landą →Every word from Proto-West Germanic land →