English
fax
Fax comes from Middle English fax ‘the hair of the head’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *peḱ- ‘to comb, shear, pluck’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peḱ-‘to comb, shear, pluck’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*poḱsom‘hair’literally ‘that which is combed, shorn, or plucked’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fahsą‘hair, mane’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*fahs‘hair’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150feax‘hair, head of hair’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fax‘the hair of the head’
- Englishearliest quotation 1710fax
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peḱ-‘to comb, shear, pluck’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*poḱsom‘hair’literally ‘that which is combed, shorn, or plucked’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fahsą‘hair, mane’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*fahs‘hair’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150feax‘hair, head of hair’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fax‘the hair of the head’
- Englishearliest quotation 1710fax
Earliest quotation: 1710, Gawin Douglas, Virgil's Aeneis: “The fillok hyr deformyt fax wald haue a fair…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *peḱ- ‘to comb, shear, pluck’
fight, fellow, fee, peculiar, feud, cynical, hound, poodle, cynic, feu, pec, fawn, pecuniary, chenille, fain, 25 more
through Old English feax ‘hair, head of hair’
Today it means
noun The hair of the head.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *peḱ- / fax