English
ask
Ask comes from Middle English asken ‘to ask about’, from Proto-West Germanic *aiskōn ‘to claim’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eys- ‘to wish’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eys-‘to wish’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂isḱéti‘to be seeking’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*iskanąreconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*aiskazreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*aisk‘question’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanic, derivedc. 200–500 CE*aiskōn‘to claim’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150āscian‘to ask’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500asken‘to ask about’
- Englishearliest quotation 1611ask
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eys-‘to wish’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂isḱéti‘to be seeking’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*iskanąreconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*aiskazreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*aisk‘question’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanic, derivedc. 200–500 CE*aiskōn‘to claim’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150āscian‘to ask’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500asken‘to ask about’
- Englishearliest quotation 1611ask
Earliest quotation: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “Ask, and it shall be given you.”
Linked words
through Proto-West Germanic *aiskōn ‘to claim’
through Old English āscian ‘to ask’
through Middle English asken ‘to ask about’
Another origin of ask
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*agizuncertain
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*agi‘lizard, snake’uncertain
- Proto-West Germanic, derivedc. 200–500 CE*agiþahsijā‘lizard’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150āþexe‘lizard, newt’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500aske‘a newt or lizard’
- Englishtodayask
Today it means
verb To request (information, or an answer to a question).
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.