English
cage
Cage comes from Old French cage, from Latin cavea ‘cage, den, enclosure, stall, coop, beehive,…’, and ultimately from Proto-Italic *kawos.
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kawosreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcavus‘hollow’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CE*caveusreconstructed
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcavea‘cage, den, enclosure, stall, coop, beehive, birdcage’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400cage
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500cage‘a cage or pen’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1596–1599cage
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kawosreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcavus‘hollow’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CE*caveusreconstructed
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcavea‘cage, den, enclosure, stall, coop, beehive, birdcage’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400cage
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500cage‘a cage or pen’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1596–1599cage
Earliest quotation: c. 1596–1599, William Shakespeare, The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, […]. Epilogue.: “For his father had / never a house but…”.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ḱewh₁- ‘to swell’
church, kirk, hound, cyst, cumulus, cajole, 37 more
through Proto-Indo-European *ḱowh₁ós
through Proto-Italic *kawos
through Latin cavus ‘hollow’
cave, cavity, excavation, excavate, cavil, 15 more
through Latin *caveus
through Latin cavea ‘cage, den, enclosure, stall, coop, beehive,…’
Today it means
noun An enclosure made of spaced bars, normally to hold animals while providing some ventilation.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Italic *kawos / cage