kneht (Proto-West Germanic)

Where does "kneht" come from?

The origin of the Proto-West Germanic noun 'kneht', meaning 'youth' or 'boy' and later 'servant' or 'knight', remains entirely unknown[1].

Open questions

• The ultimate historical origin of the Proto-West Germanic form is unknown. [1]

Descendants and derived words

• cneht (Old Dutch)
• cneht (Old English)
• cneoht (Old English)
• cniht (Old English)
• cnyht (Old English)

Sources

1. kneht (Proto-West Germanic) - Wiktionary

Updated August 2026

More words starting with K

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