The story
- Proto-Indo-European*weyh₁-?
- Proto-Indo-European*wiHrós
- Proto-Germanic*weraz
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂életi
- Proto-Germanic*alaną
- Proto-Germanic*aldiz
- Proto-Germanic*weraldiz
- Proto-West Germanic*weraldi
- Old High Germanwëralt
- Middle High Germanwërlt
- GermanWelt
- Proto-Indo-European*(s)merd-
- Proto-Germanic*smertaną
- Proto-West Germanic*smertan
- Old High Germansmerza
- Middle High Germansmerze
- GermanSchmerz
- GermanWeltschmerz
- English todayWeltschmerz
Borrowed from German Weltschmerz, from Welt (“world”) + Schmerz (“physical ache, pain; emotional pain, heartache, sorrow”). The German word was coined by the author Jean Paul (1763–1825) in his novel Selina (posthumously published in 1827).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.