jeder (German)

Where does "jeder" come from?

The German word 'jeder' descends from the Middle High German 'ieweder', which itself evolved from the Old High German 'ioweder'[1]. This term originated as a compound of 'io', meaning 'always' or 'ever', and 'weder', meaning 'whether'[2]. Through the Proto West Germanic forms '*aiw' and '*hwaþar'[3][4], it traces back to Proto Germanic[5][6]. Ultimately, these elements originate from the Proto Indo European roots '*h₂óyu', denoting vital force, and '*kʷóteros', meaning 'which of two'[7][11]. By the 14th century, the word merged with 'ieder', leading to a significant shift in meaning where its original sense of 'both' was replaced by the modern sense of 'each'[1].

Open questions

• The relationship between the Proto Indo European root *kʷ- and the Proto Uralic *ku- is theorized by some linguists but remains a subject of debate. [10]

Full etymology tree

• jeder (German), 'each'
  • inherited ieweder (Middle High German)
    • inherited ioweder (Old High German), 'both'
      • compound io (Old High German), 'always'
        • inherited *aiw (Proto-West Germanic), 'long time, age, eternity'
          • inherited *aiwaz (Proto-Germanic), 'long time, age, eternity'
            • inherited *h₂óyu (Proto-Indo-European), 'long time, lifetime'
              • derived *h₂ey- (Proto-Indo-European), 'vital force, life, age, eternity'
      • compound weder (Old High German)
        • inherited *hwaþar (Proto-West Germanic), 'which (of two, interrogative)'
          • inherited *hwaþeraz (Proto-Germanic), 'which, what (of two, interrogative)'
            • inherited *kʷóteros (Proto-Indo-European), 'which (of two)?'
              • compound *kʷos (Proto-Indo-European), 'See *kʷís.'
                • derived *kʷ- (Proto-Indo-European), 'The primary interrogative root.'
              • compound *-teros (Proto-Indo-European), 'Contrastive or oppositional adjectival suffix.'

Ancestors

• ioweder (Old High German)

Cognates and doublets

• ieder (Dutch)
• either (English)

Sources

1. jeder (German) - Wiktionary
2. ioweder (Old High German) - Wiktionary
3. io (Old High German) - Wiktionary
4. wedar (Old High German) - Wiktionary
5. hwaþar (Proto-West Germanic) - Wiktionary
6. aiw (Proto-West Germanic) - Wiktionary
7. hwaþeraz (Proto-Germanic) - Wiktionary
8. aiwaz (Proto-Germanic) - Wiktionary
9. kʷóteros (Proto-Indo-European) - Wiktionary
10. kʷ- (Proto-Indo-European) - Wiktionary
11. h₂óyu (Proto-Indo-European) - Wiktionary
12. kʷos (Proto-Indo-European) - Wiktionary

Updated August 2026

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