English
hope
Hope comes from Middle English hopen ‘to hope’, and goes back to Proto-West Germanic *hopōn ‘to wait in anticipation’.
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hopōn‘to wait in anticipation’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150hopian
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500hopen‘to hope’
- Englishearliest quotation 1611hope
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hopōn‘to wait in anticipation’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150hopian
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500hopen‘to hope’
- Englishearliest quotation 1611hope
Earliest quotation: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “I hope in thy word.”
Every English word from Proto-West Germanic *hopōn
Another origin of hope
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*tōhopōnreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150tōhopa
- Old English, derivedc. 450–1150hopa‘hope, expectation’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500hope‘trust, confidence’
- Englishtodaysame form
Eclipsed non-native early modern English esperance, borrowed from Middle French esperance.
Another origin of hope
- Old Englishc. 450–1150hōp‘a small enclosed valley’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500hope‘a valley’
- Englishtodaysame form
Another origin of hope
- Icelandicmodernhóp‘a small bay or inlet’
- Englishtodayhope
Today it means
verb To want (something) to happen, with a sense of expectation that it might [with that (+ clause); or (informal) with clause; or with so or (negative) not].
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-West Germanic *hopōn / hope