English
doppelganger
Doppelganger comes from German Doppelgänger ‘ghostly spirit’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰengʰ- ‘to walk’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰengʰ-‘to walk’root as named · steps between not traced
- Germanc. 1650–presentDoppelgänger‘ghostly spirit’literally ‘double-walker’
- Englishearliest quotation 1963doppelganger
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰengʰ-‘to walk’root as named · steps between not traced
- Germanc. 1650–presentDoppelgänger‘ghostly spirit’literally ‘double-walker’
- Englishearliest quotation 1963doppelganger
Earliest quotation: 1963, Lester del Rey: “An orderly let out the news that you are…”
The story
Borrowed from German Doppelgänger (“ghostly spirit”, literally “double-walker”).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰengʰ- ‘to walk’
Today it means
noun A ghostly double of a living person, especially one that haunts such a person.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰengʰ- / doppelganger