English
cudgel
Cudgel comes from Old English cyċġel ‘a large stick, cudgel’, from Proto-Germanic *kuggilaz ‘a knobbed instrument’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gew- ‘to bow, bend, arch, curve’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gew-‘to bow, bend, arch, curve’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*gewgʰ-‘swelling, bow’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kuggǭ‘cog, swelling’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kuggilaz‘a knobbed instrument’reconstructedderivative of *kuggǭ
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*kuggilreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150cyċġel‘a large stick, cudgel’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500kuggel
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1597cudgel
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gew-‘to bow, bend, arch, curve’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*gewgʰ-‘swelling, bow’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kuggǭ‘cog, swelling’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kuggilaz‘a knobbed instrument’reconstructedderivative of *kuggǭ
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*kuggilreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150cyċġel‘a large stick, cudgel’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500kuggel
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1597cudgel
Earliest quotation: c. 1597, William Shakespeare, The First Part of Henry the Fourth, […]: “I would cudgel him like a dog if he…”
Formed from cog + -el
Proto-Indo-European *gēw-
Proto-Indo-European *gugā ‘hump, ball’
Proto-Germanic *kuggō ‘cog, swelling’
Old Norse *koggr
Middle English cogge
English cog
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *gew- ‘to bow, bend, arch, curve’
cap, cop, cock, cod, cub, giro, kiosk, guttural, gyrus, kibble, gyre, 11 more
Today it means
noun A short heavy club with a rounded head used as a weapon.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *gew- / cudgel