Etymograph

English

moth

Moth may come from Middle English moth.

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500mothuncertain
  2. Englishearliest quotation 2013same form

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Earlier history uncertain.

Lineage

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500mothuncertain
  2. Englishearliest quotation 2013same form

Earliest quotation: 2013, -June, An Acoustic Arms Race: “Earless ghost swift moths become “invisible” to echolocating bats…”

Linked words

through Proto-Germanic *maþô ‘maggot, worm’

made, maddock, 1 more

Another origin of moth

  1. Hindic. 1500–presentमोठmoṭh‘moth bean, Phaseolus aconitifolius’
  2. Englishtodaymoth

Today it means

noun Any flying insect of the order Lepidoptera not in the superfamily Papilionoidea, most species of which are nocturnal and can be distinguished from butterflies by feather-like antennae.

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

Etymograph / Middle English moth / moth

Shirt and support for this word