Etymograph

English

ewe

Ewe comes from Proto-Germanic *awiz ‘sheep in general’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₂ówis.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂ówis‘sheep’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*awiz‘sheep in general’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*awireconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150eowu
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ewe
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1611ewe

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂ówis‘sheep’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*awiz‘sheep in general’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*awireconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150eowu
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ewe
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1611ewe

Earliest quotation: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “This twentie yeeres haue I bene with thee: thy…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂ówis ‘sheep’

aviation, avian, aviator, aviary, 10 more

Today it means

noun A female sheep, as opposed to a ram.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂ówis / ewe

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