Etymograph

English

hough

Hough comes from Old English hōh ‘heel, hough’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *kenk- ‘to feel hunger’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kenk-‘to feel hunger’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hanhaz‘heel’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hą̄h‘heel’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150hōh‘heel, hough’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500hough
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1866same form

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kenk-‘to feel hunger’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hanhaz‘heel’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hą̄h‘heel’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150hōh‘heel, hough’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500hough
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1866same form

Earliest quotation: 1866, Charles Kingsley, London: Nelson: “Far and wide the farms were burnt over their…”

The story

The regular modern English development would be /hʌf/, /haʊ/; this has been replaced by /hɒk/, originating in the compound huxen (also *hoxen), from Old English hōhsinu.

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *kenk- ‘to feel hunger’

hungry, hunger

through Proto-Germanic *hanhaz ‘heel’

heel

through Old English hōh ‘heel, hough’

how, 1 more

through Middle English hough

hoo, hoe, hock

Another origin of hough

  1. Old Englishc. 450–1150hōh‘a promontory’
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ho
  3. Englishtodayhough

Today it means

noun —

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

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *kenk- / hough

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