Etymograph

English

wichtje

Wichtje comes from Dutch wichtje ‘diminutive of wicht’, from wicht ‘weight’, and ultimately from Proto-Germanic *wihtiz.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wihtiz1reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*wihti1reconstructed
  3. Old Dutchc. 500–1150*wiht1reconstructed
  4. Middle Dutchc. 1150–1500wicht1
  5. Dutchc. 1500–presentwicht2‘weight’
  6. Dutchc. 1500–presentwichtje2‘diminutive of wicht’diminutive of wicht
  7. Englishtodaywichtje2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Dutch wicht
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English wichtje

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wihtizWiktionary, Dutch wichtreconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*wihtiWiktionary, Dutch wichtreconstructed
  3. Old Dutchc. 500–1150*wihtWiktionary, Dutch wichtreconstructed
  4. Middle Dutchc. 1150–1500wichtWiktionary, Dutch wicht
  5. Dutchc. 1500–presentwichtWiktionary, English wichtje‘weight’
  6. Dutchc. 1500–presentwichtjeWiktionary, English wichtje‘diminutive of wicht’diminutive of wicht
  7. EnglishtodaywichtjeWiktionary, English wichtje

Linked words

through Proto-Germanic *wihtiz

weight, aught

through Proto-West Germanic *wihti

wight

Today it means

noun A unit of weight, equivalent to 50 kilograms, used for certain kinds of fish.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “wichtje”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Dutch wicht. 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-Germanic *wihtiz / wichtje

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