English
heed
Heed comes from Old English hēdan ‘to heed, take care, observe, attend, guard,…’, and goes back to Proto-West Germanic *hōdijan.
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hōdijan‘to heed, guard’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150hēdan‘to heed, take care, observe, attend, guard, take charge, take possession, receive’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500heden
- Englishearliest quotation 1567heed
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hōdijan‘to heed, guard’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150hēdan‘to heed, take care, observe, attend, guard, take charge, take possession, receive’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500heden
- Englishearliest quotation 1567heed
Earliest quotation: 1567, Ovid, Metamorphoses: “With pleasure Argus the musician heeds.”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *kadʰ- ‘to heed, protect’
Today it means
noun Careful attention.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-West Germanic *hōdijan / heed