Etymograph

English

geish

Geish comes from French guiche ‘a strap’, from Old French guiche ‘willowy place’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wey- ‘to turn, wind, bend’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wey-‘to turn, wind, bend’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*weyt-‘that which winds or bends, branch, switch’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wiþō‘band’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wiþjǭ‘cord, rope, strap’reconstructed
  5. Frankishc. 250–700*wiþþjāreconstructed
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400guiche‘willowy place’
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600same form
  8. Frenchc. 1600–presentsame form‘a strap’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1996geish

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wey-‘to turn, wind, bend’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*weyt-‘that which winds or bends, branch, switch’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wiþō‘band’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wiþjǭ‘cord, rope, strap’reconstructed
  5. Frankishc. 250–700*wiþþjāreconstructed
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400guiche‘willowy place’
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600same form
  8. Frenchc. 1600–presentsame form‘a strap’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1996geish

Earliest quotation: 1996, QerPanGaia, Just got a Bike Soft Cup: “I have a pierced cock - PA - and…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *wey- ‘to turn, wind, bend’

weld, guile, wile, wattle, withe, 2 more

through Proto-Germanic *wiþjǭ ‘cord, rope, strap’

with, 2 more

Today it means

noun The perineum.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *wey- / geish

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