English
moody
Moody comes from Middle English mody ‘Boastful, conceited, arrogant, or vain’, from Old English mōdiġ ‘brave’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *meh₁- ‘to endeavor’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*meh₁-‘to endeavor’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*mō-tó-sreconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*mōdaz‘mind’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*mōdagaz‘courageous’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150mōdiġ‘brave’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500mody‘Boastful, conceited, arrogant, or vain’
- Englishearliest quotation 1610–1611moody
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*meh₁-‘to endeavor’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*mō-tó-sreconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*mōdaz‘mind’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*mōdagaz‘courageous’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150mōdiġ‘brave’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500mody‘Boastful, conceited, arrogant, or vain’
- Englishearliest quotation 1610–1611moody
Earliest quotation: 1610–1611, William Shakespeare, The Tempest: “How now? moodie? / What is't thou canſt demand?”
Equivalent to mood + -y
Proto-Indo-European *moh₁- ‘endeavour’
Proto-Germanic *mōdaz ‘sense’
Proto-West Germanic *mōd ‘mind’
Old English mōd ‘mind’
Middle English mood
English mood
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *meh₁- ‘to endeavor’
month, measure, meal, moral, meter, sunny, dimensional, dimension, moon, immense, metric, metre, meta, mesa, menstrual, asymmetry, commensurate, mensa, madder, metrology, mete, metis, metra, menses, firman, 64 more
through Old English mōdiġ ‘brave’
Today it means
adj Given to sudden or frequent changes of mind; temperamental.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *meh₁- / moody