So I minored in linguistics back in college, meaning I know lots of obscure things about random languages and how they developed. Well, being here in Switzerland and experiencing the differences between High German and Swiss German have gotten some of those old linguistics gears turning in my head again.

Does anyone know of a website to access etymology of German (and/or Swiss German) words? I'm looking for an equivalent to the Oxford English dictionary, which traces word roots and usage back to its first appearance in the language or Old German. If there isn't a website, at least knowing the name of such a reference book would be helpful for trying to find it in a library or online. I mean, "Oxford English dictionary" doesn't really translate...

Thanks!

Feeding "Duden etymology" into Google gave some promising results.

Also look up Alemannic, which is what Swiss German is descended from.

(Sorry, too late at this hour to get into a serious bit of Google for me)

Wonderful! This will do the trick. I didn't even know what to start googling.

I'd "thank" you, but I don't have the status yet.

I'm also curious about etymologic backgrounds from time to time, but regrettably I haven't found any systematic ressources online. I can also recommend Duden Vol. 7: Das Herkunftswörterbuch, which is available for just under 40 Fr., for example at the Orell Füssli bookshop.

For Swiss German words, it's worth a try to search the German blog blogwiese.ch who deals (dealt) with Swiss vocabulary in an entertaining way.

Thanks, I will have to spend a little more time deciphering that website as my German is still pretty rusty. I am just trying to get a handle on some of the roots of German and Swiss-German words. I'm guessing that most descriptions of the history of Swiss German will be in German, so I plan to get a basic overview of some patterns and stuff on my own...when I have time that is.

Both posts will get me going in the right direction, and I thank you both for your help!

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