English
madden
Madden comes from Middle English madden ‘to be mad or insane’, from Proto-Germanic *maidijaną ‘to exchange, change’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *meyth₂-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*meyth₂-‘to change’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*moyth₂-éye-tireconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*maidijaną‘to exchange, change’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150*mǣdanreconstructed
- Old English, derivedc. 450–1150ġemǣdan
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500mad
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500madden‘to be mad or insane’
- Englishearliest quotation 1855same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*meyth₂-‘to change’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*moyth₂-éye-tireconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*maidijaną‘to exchange, change’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150*mǣdanreconstructed
- Old English, derivedc. 450–1150ġemǣdan
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500mad
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500madden‘to be mad or insane’
- Englishearliest quotation 1855same form
Earliest quotation: 1855, Charles Kingsley, Westward Ho!: “The rascal saw his advantage, and began a fierce…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *meyth₂- ‘to change’
miss, message, mess, commit, premise, mute, mutant, intermittent, omit, misnomer, mutate, transmutation, commutative, commutation, mutable, molt, moult, 19 more
through Middle English mad
through Middle English madden ‘to be mad or insane’
Today it means
verb To make angry.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *meyth₂- / madden