Etymograph

English

couth

Couth comes from Middle English couth ‘familiar, known’, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵn̥néh₃ti ‘to know, recognize’, and ultimately from *ǵneh₃-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵneh₃-‘to know’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵn̥néh₃ti‘to know, recognize’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kunnaną‘to be familiar with, know, recognize’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150cunnan‘to be familiar with, know’
  5. Old English, derivedc. 450–1150cūþ‘familiar, intimate, known, usual’past participle of cunnan
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500couth‘familiar, known’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 2012same form

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵneh₃-‘to know’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵn̥néh₃ti‘to know, recognize’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kunnaną‘to be familiar with, know, recognize’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150cunnan‘to be familiar with, know’
  5. Old English, derivedc. 450–1150cūþ‘familiar, intimate, known, usual’past participle of cunnan
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500couth‘familiar, known’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 2012same form

Earliest quotation: 2012, La’Vez Robinson Sr., Deutschland: “Squad leaders were responsible for doing periodic checks to…”

The story

The word is cognate with Dutch kond (‘known’), Saterland Frisian cut (‘known’), Gothic 𐌺𐌿𐌽𐌸𐍃 (kunþs, “known”), Icelandic kuður, kunnur (‘known’), Latin gnosco (‘to know’), Old High German kund, chund, chunt, Middle High German kunt (modern German kund (‘known’)), Old Saxon kūth, cûth, cuð (‘known; famous, renowned’), Scots couth (‘familiar, known’); and is a doublet of could.

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- ‘to know’

know, note, normal, notice, ignore, narrative, glory, recognize, recognition, noble, notion, keen, ignorant, norm, cognitive, diagnostic, notorious, notation, nobility, prognosis, narration, quaint, gnome, notoriety, cognition, notary, agnostic, canny, incognito, connoisseur, gnosis, annotate, recognizance, cognizance, kith, 88 more

through Proto-Germanic *kunnaną ‘to be familiar with, know, recognize’

keenly, 5 more

through Old English cunnan ‘to be familiar with, know’

can, could, ken, con, cunning, canna, cun, 1 more

Today it means

adj Familiar, known; well-known, renowned.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- / couth

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