Etymograph

English

hoof

Hoof comes from Old English hōf ‘a hoof’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ḱoph₂ós.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱoph₂ósreconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hōfazreconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hōfreconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150hōf‘a hoof’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500hof
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1712hoof

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱoph₂ósreconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hōfazreconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hōfreconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150hōf‘a hoof’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500hof
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1712hoof

Earliest quotation: 1712, Joseph Addison, Cato: “[…] I ſee Th’ Inſulting Tyrant prancing o’er the…”

The story

Inherited from Middle English hof, houf, houve, hove, from Old English hōf, from Proto-Germanic *hōfaz (compare West Frisian hoef, Dutch hoef, German Huf, Danish hov, Norwegian hov, Swedish hov), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱoph₂ós (compare Sanskrit शफ (śaphá, “hoof, claw”), Avestan 𐬯𐬀𐬟𐬀 (safa, “hoof”), possibly Czech, Polish kopyto).

Linked words

through Old English hōf ‘a hoof’

hovel, 1 more

Today it means

noun The tip of a toe of an ungulate such as a horse, ox or deer, strengthened by a thick keratin covering.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ḱoph₂ós / hoof

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