Etymograph

English

gorm

Gorm comes from Middle English gome ‘Regard, attention, gaum’, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *gaumō ‘heed’.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*gaumō‘heed’reconstructed
  2. Old Norsec. 800–1350gaumr
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500gome‘Regard, attention, gaum’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1901gorm

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*gaumō‘heed’reconstructed
  2. Old Norsec. 800–1350gaumr
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500gome‘Regard, attention, gaum’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1901gorm

Earliest quotation: 1901, New Outlook: “Tell Sannah to bring some coffee," said the young…”

The story

A variant of gaum, from Middle English gome, from Old Norse gaumr, from Proto-Germanic *gaumō; compare Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌿𐌼𐌾𐌰𐌽 (gaumjan, “observe”), and see gaum for more. The -r- was not originally pronounced but was a device used by non-rhotic dialects of English to indicate vowel length or quality (compare Burma, Myanmar, and juggernaut).

Every English word from Proto-Germanic *gaumō

Today it means

verb To gawk; to stare or gape.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *gaumō / gorm

Shirt and support for this word