suchen (German)

Where does "suchen" come from?

The German verb 'suchen', meaning 'to search, to look for' or 'to seek', descends directly through Middle High German 'suochen'[1][5] and Old High German 'suohhen'[1][3]. These forms trace back to Proto-West Germanic '*sōkijan'[1][4] and Proto-Germanic '*sōkijaną'[1][2][3][4], meaning 'to seek'. Ultimately, the Germanic forms originate in the Proto-Indo-European root '*seh₂g-' meaning 'seek out'[1][2]. This ancient lineage is shared by several cognates across other Germanic languages, including English 'seek', Dutch 'zoeken', and Gothic 'sōkjan'.

Open questions

The earliest ancestral forms such as Proto-Germanic '*sōkijaną' and Proto-Indo-European '*seh₂g-' are reconstructed by linguists rather than directly attested in writing. [1] [2] [4] [6]

Full etymology tree

suchen (German), 'to search, to look for'
- inherited suochen (Middle High German), 'to seek, to search'
  - inherited suohhen (Old High German), 'to seek, inquire, look for'
    - inherited *sōkijan (Proto-West Germanic), 'to seek, look for'
      - inherited *sōkijaną (Proto-Germanic), 'to seek, look for'
        inherited *seh₂g- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to trace, follow'

Ancestors

suochen (Middle High German)
suohhen (Old High German)
*sōkijan (Proto-West Germanic)
*sōkijaną (Proto-Germanic)
*seh₂g- (Proto-Indo-European)

Cognates and doublets

søge (Danish)
zoeken (Dutch)
seek (English)
𐍃𐍉𐌺𐌾𐌰𐌽 (Gothic)
söken (Low German)
sichen (Luxembourgish)

Descendants and derived words

absuchen (German)
ansuchen (German)
aufsuchen (German)
aussuchen (German)
besuchen (German)
das Weite suchen (German)
durchsuchen (German)
ersuchen (German)
heimsuchen (German)
heraussuchen (German)
Suchalgorithmus (German)
Suchbaum (German)

Sources

Updated September 2026

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