Osnabrück

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*av-“watercourse”
2. Old Saxon · derived fromOsnabrugga
3. German · derived fromOsnabrück
4. English todayOsnabrück

From German Osnabrück, from Old Saxon Osnabrugga (literally “bridge of the Osna”), an old name for the river Hase. This name goes back to an earlier *Ausana, an older Pre-Germanic name for the river, said to be an Old European hydronym, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *av- (“watercourse”), extended with -s. However, compare Proto-Germanic *ausaną (“to scoop up”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ews-. Doublet of osnaburg.