Etymograph

English

code

Code comes from Middle English code ‘system of law’, from Latin cōdex ‘tree trunk’, and ultimately from caudex.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcaudex‘the stock or stem of a tree’
  2. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōdex‘tree trunk’later form of caudex
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400code‘system of law’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘system of law’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1872same form

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcaudex‘the stock or stem of a tree’
  2. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōdex‘tree trunk’later form of caudex
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400code‘system of law’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘system of law’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1872same form

Earliest quotation: 1872, Francis Wharton: “the mild and impartial spirit which pervades the Code…”

The story

Verb etymology 1, verb sense 7 is an ellipsis of code blue (‘medical emergency’).

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *kewh₂- ‘to strike, hew, forge’

hay, hog, coward, hoe, hoy, hag, haggis, hew, 6 more

through Middle English code ‘system of law’

cud

Today it means

noun A short textual designation, often with little relation to the item it represents.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Latin caudex / code

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