English
mow
Mow comes from Middle English mowen ‘to mow’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₂meh₁-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂meh₁-‘to mow, reap’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*mēaną‘to mow, cut down’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*māan‘to mow’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150māwan‘to mow’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500mowen‘to mow’
- Englishearliest quotation 1828mow
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂meh₁-‘to mow, reap’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*mēaną‘to mow, cut down’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*māan‘to mow’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150māwan‘to mow’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500mowen‘to mow’
- Englishearliest quotation 1828mow
Earliest quotation: 1828, Sporting Magazine: “I consider it would engender a stiff, tame, cautious…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂meh₁- ‘to mow, reap’
through Middle English mowen ‘to mow’
Another origin of mow
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*mawwō‘muff, sleeve’reconstructed
- Frankishc. 250–700*mauwa‘pout, protruding lip’reconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400moe‘grimace’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500mowe
- Englishtodaymow
Another origin of mow
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*mūgôreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*mūgōreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150mūga‘stack’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500mowe‘a haystack’
- Englishtodaymow
From Middle English mowe, form Old English mūga, mūha, from Proto-West Germanic *mūgō, *mūhō, from Proto-Germanic *mūgô, *mūhō; perhaps connected to Ancient Greek μύκων (múkōn, “heap”).
Today it means
verb To cut down grass or crops.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.