English
king
King comes from Middle English king ‘king (monarch)’, from Proto-Germanic *kunją ‘clan, family, kin’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- ‘to produce’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵenh₁-‘to produce’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kunją‘clan’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kuningazreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*kuningreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150cening
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500king‘king’
- Englishearliest quotation 1599king
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵenh₁-‘to produce’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kunją‘clan’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kuningazreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*kuningreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150cening
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500king‘king’
- Englishearliest quotation 1599king
Earliest quotation: 1599, William Shakespeare, The Life of Henry the Fift: “And let us do it with no show of…”
Formed from kin + -ing
Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- ‘to produce’
…
Proto-Germanic *kunją ‘race, generation, descent’
Proto-West Germanic *kuni ‘family, kin’
Old English cynn ‘kind, sort, rank’
Middle English kyn ‘a family’
English kin
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- ‘to produce’
general, nature, german, nation, generation, native, kind, gender, pregnant, gene, genius, oxygen, engine, ken, genre, gentle, genuine, hydrogen, indigenous, genocide, naive, genus, noel, genital, natal, nee, germ, innate, nativity, nada, nascent, naïve, gentile, janata, ingenious, gens, puny, glycogen, genial, genteel, 114 more
through Proto-Germanic *kunją ‘clan, family, kin’
Today it means
noun A male monarch; a man who heads a monarchy; in an absolute monarchy, the supreme ruler of his nation.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- / king