Etymograph

English

howitzer

Howitzer comes from Dutch houwitser, from Czech houf ‘flock, crowd’, and ultimately from Proto-Germanic *hūpô.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hūpôreconstructed
  2. Old High Germanc. 750–1050hūfo‘heap’
  3. Middle High Germanc. 1050–1350hufe‘heap’
  4. Old Czechmodernhúf
  5. Czechmodernhouf‘flock, crowd’
  6. Czech, derivedmodernhoufnice
  7. Middle High Germanc. 1050–1350haufniz
  8. Germanc. 1650–presentHaubitze
  9. Dutchc. 1500–presenthouwitser
  10. Englishearliest quotation 2018howitzer

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hūpôreconstructed
  2. Old High Germanc. 750–1050hūfo‘heap’
  3. Middle High Germanc. 1050–1350hufe‘heap’
  4. Old Czechmodernhúf
  5. Czechmodernhouf‘flock, crowd’
  6. Czech, derivedmodernhoufnice
  7. Middle High Germanc. 1050–1350haufniz
  8. Germanc. 1650–presentHaubitze
  9. Dutchc. 1500–presenthouwitser
  10. Englishearliest quotation 2018howitzer

Earliest quotation: 2018, Tom English, Scotland 0-4 Belgium: “Belgium took a little while to catch Scotland with…”

The story

The Czech noun houf comes from Middle High German hufe (‘heap’), from Old High German hūfo.

Every English word from Proto-Germanic *hūpô

Today it means

noun A cannon that combines certain characteristics of field guns and mortars, delivering projectiles with medium velocities, usually with relatively high trajectories; normally a cannon with a tube length of 20 to 30 calibers.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *hūpô / howitzer

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