English
mire
Mire comes from Middle English mire ‘Marshy or swampy land’, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *miuzijō.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*miuzijō‘bog, swamp’reconstructed
- Old Norsec. 800–1350mýrr‘moor, swamp, bog’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500mire‘Marshy or swampy land’
- Englishearliest quotation 1598–1599same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*miuzijō‘bog, swamp’reconstructed
- Old Norsec. 800–1350mýrr‘moor, swamp, bog’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500mire‘Marshy or swampy land’
- Englishearliest quotation 1598–1599same form
Earliest quotation: 1598–1599, Much Adoe about Nothing: “Why had I not with charitable hand Took up…”
Every English word from Proto-Germanic *miuzijō
Today it means
noun Deep mud; moist, spongy earth.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *miuzijō / mire