Etymograph

English

kwaai

Kwaai comes from Dutch kwaad ‘bad, evil, crooked’, from Proto-West Germanic *kwād ‘filth, mud’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷewH- ‘to defecate’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷewH-‘to defecate’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷweH-tó-s‘defecated’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kwēdaz‘defecated, filthy’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*kwād‘filth, mud’reconstructed
  5. Old Dutchc. 500–1150*kwātreconstructed
  6. Middle Dutchc. 1150–1500quâet‘evil’
  7. Dutchc. 1500–presentkwaad‘bad, evil, crooked’
  8. Afrikaansmodernkwaai
  9. Englishtodaysame form

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷewH-‘to defecate’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷweH-tó-s‘defecated’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kwēdaz‘defecated, filthy’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*kwād‘filth, mud’reconstructed
  5. Old Dutchc. 500–1150*kwātreconstructed
  6. Middle Dutchc. 1150–1500quâet‘evil’
  7. Dutchc. 1500–presentkwaad‘bad, evil, crooked’
  8. Afrikaansmodernkwaai
  9. Englishtodaysame form

Every English word from Proto-Indo-European *gʷewH-

Today it means

adj bad-tempered, aggressive, fierce

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

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *gʷewH- / kwaai

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