Etymograph

English

doppelganger

Doppelganger comes from German Doppelgänger ‘ghostly spirit’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰengʰ- ‘to walk’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰengʰ-1‘to walk’root named by Wiktionary · steps between not traced
  2. Germanc. 1650–presentDoppelgänger1‘ghostly spirit’literally ‘double-walker’
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1963doppelganger1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English doppelganger
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1963, Lester del Rey: “"An orderly let out the news that you are…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰengʰ-Wiktionary, English doppelganger‘to walk’root named by Wiktionary · steps between not traced
  2. Germanc. 1650–presentDoppelgängerWiktionary, English doppelganger‘ghostly spirit’literally ‘double-walker’
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1963doppelgangerWiktionary, English doppelganger. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1963, Lester del Rey: “"An orderly let out the news that you are…”

The story

Borrowed from German Doppelgänger (“ghostly spirit”, literally “double-walker”).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰengʰ- ‘to walk’

jay, gang, gong, camino, gan, ging, 11 more

Today it means

noun A ghostly double of a living person, especially one that haunts such a person.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “doppelganger”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰengʰ- / doppelganger

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