belehren (German)

Where does "belehren" come from?

The German verb 'belehren', meaning to teach, inform, or correct, is inherited from the reconstructed Middle High German form '*belēren'[1]. This in turn traces directly back to the attested Old High German verb 'bilēren'[1].

Open questions

• The Middle High German intermediate stage '*belēren' is an asterisked proto-form that is reconstructed rather than directly attested in surviving written records. [1]

Full etymology tree

• belehren (German), 'to teach, to guide'
  • inherited *belēren (Middle High German)
    • inherited bilēren (Old High German)

Descendants and derived words

• belehrend (German)
• belehrend (German)
• Belehrung (German)

Sources

1. belehren (German) - Wiktionary

Updated October 2026

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