Etymograph

English

greyhound

Greyhound comes from Old English hund ‘hound’.

  1. Old Englishc. 450–1150hund‘hound’
  2. Old English, derivedc. 450–1150grīġhund
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1834greyhound

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Earlier history not traced here.

Lineage

  1. Old Englishc. 450–1150hund‘hound’
  2. Old English, derivedc. 450–1150grīġhund
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1834greyhound

Earliest quotation: 1834, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, London: Richard Bentley: “Her young heart was full of love; and a…”

A compound of grey + hound

Proto-Germanic *grēwaz ‘grey’

Proto-West Germanic *grāu ‘grey’

Old English grēġ ‘grey’

Middle English grey ‘grey’

English grey

Proto-Indo-European *ḱwṓ ‘dog’

Proto-Germanic *hundaz ‘dog’

Proto-West Germanic *hund ‘dog’

Old English hund

Middle English hound ‘a hunting or sporting dog’

English hound

The story

Altered by folk etymology to appear to be grey + hound.folk etymology The source marks this as unproven or a folk etymology. Quoted, not asserted.

Every English word from Old English hund

Today it means

noun A lean breed of dog used in hunting and racing.

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

Etymograph / Old English hund / greyhound

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