Etymograph

English

mad as a hatter

Mad as a hatter comes from Old English ātor ‘poison, venom’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₂eyd- ‘to swell’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eyd-‘to swell’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂oyd-ro-mreconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*aitrą‘poison’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*aitr‘poison’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150ātor‘poison, venom’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1857mad as a hatter

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eyd-‘to swell’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂oyd-ro-mreconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*aitrą‘poison’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*aitr‘poison’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150ātor‘poison, venom’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1857mad as a hatter

Earliest quotation: 1857, Thomas Hughes, Cambridge: “He's a very good fellow, but as mad as…”

first attested First recorded 1829 (as stated in the etymology)

The story

First recorded 1829. Of uncertain origin, though usually explained as referring to hat-makers suffering from Erethism due to handling mercury-contaminated felt.uncertain The source flags this step as uncertain.

Every English word from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eyd-

Today it means

adj Crazy or demented.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂eyd- / mad as a hatter

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