genug (German)
Where does "genug" come from?
The German word "genug" traces its roots back to the Proto-Indo-European root *h₂neḱ-, meaning "to reach" or "to attain." It evolved through Proto-Germanic as *ganōgaz, eventually passing into Old and Middle High German before stabilizing in its modern form. Along the way, it became a linguistic cousin to the English word "enough," sharing the core concept of having reached a sufficient amount.
Full etymology tree
- genug (German), 'enough, sufficient, in an adequate way'
- inherited genuoc (Middle High German)
- inherited ginuog (Old High German), 'enough'
- inherited *ganōgaz (Proto-West Germanic)
- inherited *ganōgaz (Proto-Germanic), 'enough, sufficient'
- compound *ga- (Proto-Germanic), 'Indicates association or togetherness; co-.'
- compound *nōgaz (Proto-Germanic)
- derived *nuganą (Proto-Germanic)
- inherited *h₂eh₂nóḱe (Proto-Indo-European), 'to have reached, to be at'
- derived *h₂neḱ- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to reach, to attain'
- inherited *h₂eh₂nóḱe (Proto-Indo-European), 'to have reached, to be at'
- inherited *h₂eh₂nóḱe (Proto-Indo-European), 'to have reached, to be at'
- derived *h₂neḱ- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to reach, to attain'
- derived *nuganą (Proto-Germanic)
- inherited *ganōgaz (Proto-Germanic), 'enough, sufficient'
- inherited *ganōgaz (Proto-West Germanic)
- inherited ginuog (Old High German), 'enough'
- inherited genuoc (Middle High German)
Ancestors
- *h₂neḱ- (Proto-Indo-European)
- ginuog (Old High German)
- *ganōgaz (Proto-Germanic)
Cognates and doublets
- kënaq (Albanian)
- nok (Danish)
- genoeg (Dutch)
- enough (English)
- nanciscor (Latin)
- nesti (Slovene)
- nog (Swedish)
- genôch (West Frisian)
Updated July 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris