English
Guy
Guy comes from Old French Gui, from Proto-West Germanic *widu ‘wood’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁weydʰh₁- ‘to separate, divide’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁weydʰh₁-‘to separate, divide’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*(h₁)wéydʰ(h₁)usreconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*widuz‘wood’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*widu‘wood’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanic, derivedc. 200–500 CE*Widōreconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400Gui
- Englishearliest quotation 1613Guy
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁weydʰh₁-‘to separate, divide’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*(h₁)wéydʰ(h₁)usreconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*widuz‘wood’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*widu‘wood’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanic, derivedc. 200–500 CE*Widōreconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400Gui
- Englishearliest quotation 1613Guy
Earliest quotation: 1613, William Shakespeare, The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eight: “I am not Samson, nor Sir Guy, nor Colbrand,…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₁weydʰh₁- ‘to separate, divide’
individual, wide, division, device, divide, widow, devise, divisible, fid, 12 more
through Proto-Germanic *widuz ‘wood’
through Proto-West Germanic *widu ‘wood’
through Old French Gui
Today it means
name A male given name from the Germanic languages.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.