Etymograph

English

maw

Maw comes from Middle English mawe ‘the stomach or guts of an organism’, from Proto-Germanic *magô ‘belly’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *mak-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mak-reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*magô‘belly’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*magō‘stomach’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150maga‘stomach’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500mawe‘the stomach or guts of an organism’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1607maw

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mak-reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*magô‘belly’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*magō‘stomach’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150maga‘stomach’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500mawe‘the stomach or guts of an organism’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1607maw

Earliest quotation: 1607, The Knight of the Burning Pestle: “Unless you had more maw to do me good.”

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

Today it means

noun The upper digestive tract (where food enters the body), especially the mouth and jaws of an animal.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *mak- / maw

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