Etymograph

English

mitgehen

Mitgehen comes from German mitgehen ‘to come along’, from gehen ‘to go, to walk’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰengʰ-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰengʰ-1‘to walk’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*ganganą1‘to go, walk, step’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*gangan1‘to go, walk, step’reconstructed
  4. Old High Germanc. 750–1050gangan1‘to go, walk’
  5. Middle High Germanc. 1050–1350gān1‘to go’
  6. Germanc. 1650–presentgehen2‘to go, to walk’
  7. Germanc. 1650–presentmitgehen3‘to come along’
  8. Englishtodaymitgehen3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, German gehen
  2. 2 Wiktionary, German mitgehen
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English mitgehen

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰengʰ-Wiktionary, German gehen‘to walk’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*ganganąWiktionary, German gehen‘to go, walk, step’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*ganganWiktionary, German gehen‘to go, walk, step’reconstructed
  4. Old High Germanc. 750–1050ganganWiktionary, German gehen‘to go, walk’
  5. Middle High Germanc. 1050–1350gānWiktionary, German gehen‘to go’
  6. Germanc. 1650–presentgehenWiktionary, German mitgehen‘to go, to walk’
  7. Germanc. 1650–presentmitgehenWiktionary, English mitgehen‘to come along’
  8. EnglishtodaymitgehenWiktionary, English mitgehen

Linked words

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

jay, camino, doppelganger, ging, 10 more

through Proto-West Germanic *gangan ‘to go, walk, step’

gang, gong, gan, 2 more

Today it means

noun An extreme form of mitmachen, where very slight pressure exerted on a body will cause a movement in any direction.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “mitgehen”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for German gehen, German mitgehen. 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- / mitgehen

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