Silber (German)

Where does "Silber" come from?

The German word 'Silber' descends from the Old High German 'silbar' and the Proto-West Germanic '*silubr,' sharing a common ancestry with the English 'silver.' Its origins are mysterious and potentially represent a 'Wanderwort', an ancient term borrowed across different language families, possibly connected to the refinement of precious metals in the ancient Near East. This term eventually replaced an older Indo-European root as Germanic-speaking cultures evolved their metallurgical practices.

Full etymology tree

• Silber (German), 'silver (chemical element, Ag)'
  • inherited silber (Middle High German)
    • inherited silbar (Old High German), 'silver'
      • inherited *silubr (Proto-West Germanic), 'silver'
        • inherited *silubrą (Proto-Germanic), 'silver'

Ancestors

• silbar (Old High German)
• *silubr (Proto-West Germanic)

Cognates and doublets

• zilver (Dutch)
• silver (English)

Descendants and derived words

• Silberbarren (German)
• Silberbecher (German)
• Silberbergwerk (German)
• Silberbesteck (German)
• Silberblech (German)
• Silberblick (German)
• Silberbromid (German)
• Silberchlorid (German)
• Silberdraht (German)
• Silbererz (German)
• Silberfaden (German)
• silberfarben (German)

Updated June 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris