Etymograph

English

knave

Knave comes from Middle English knave ‘son, male child (offspring)’, and goes back to Proto-West Germanic *knappō ‘boy’.

  1. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*knappōas *knabō‘boy’reconstructed
  2. Old Englishc. 450–1150cnafa‘child, boy, youth’
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500knave‘son, male child (offspring)’
  4. Englishearliest quotation c. 1603–1604same form

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*knappōas *knabō‘boy’reconstructed
  2. Old Englishc. 450–1150cnafa‘child, boy, youth’
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500knave‘son, male child (offspring)’
  4. Englishearliest quotation c. 1603–1604same form

Earliest quotation: c. 1603–1604, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice: “Many a duteous and knee-crooking knave that, doting on…”

Every English word from Proto-West Germanic *knappō

Today it means

noun A boy; especially, a boy servant.

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

Etymograph / Proto-West Germanic *knappō / knave

Shirt and support for this word