English
height
Height comes from Old English hīehþu ‘highness, height’, from Proto-Germanic *hauhaz ‘high’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kewk- ‘to bend’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kewk-‘to bend’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*kówkosreconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hauhaz‘high’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hauhiþōreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hauhiþureconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150hīehþu‘highness’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500heighte
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1599–1602height
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kewk-‘to bend’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*kówkosreconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hauhaz‘high’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hauhiþōreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hauhiþureconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150hīehþu‘highness’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500heighte
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1599–1602height
Earliest quotation: c. 1599–1602, William Shakespeare, The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet: “[…]They clip vs drunkards, and with Swiniſh phraſe /…”
Formed from high + -t
Proto-Indo-European *kewk- ‘to bend’
Proto-Germanic *hauhaz
Proto-West Germanic *hauh
Old English hēah ‘high’
Middle English high
English high
The story
The regular pronunciation is now obsolete /heɪt/ (as with other words in -eight); the modern form developed early on, at first as a variant, by analogy with the underlying adjective.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *kewk- ‘to bend’
through Proto-Germanic *hauhaz ‘high’
Today it means
noun The distance from the base to the top of something.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *kewk- / height