Etymograph

English

mud

Mud comes from Middle English mud.

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500mud
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1951same form

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Earlier history uncertain.

Lineage

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500mud
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1951same form

Earliest quotation: 1951, William S. Burroughs, To Allen Ginsberg: “Of course, I take a bang or some mud…”

The story

Alternative etymology suggests the Proto-Germanic word is possibly borrowed from a Uralic language.

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *mū-

midge

Another origin of mud

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*med-‘to measure’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*mod-ós‘measure’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*modosreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmodus‘a measure’
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEmodius‘modius, a unit of dry measure of about a peck or 9 litres’
  6. Middle Dutchc. 1150–1500mudde
  7. Dutchc. 1500–presentmud‘an old measure of volume, varying in content over time and regions’
  8. Englishtodaysame form

Today it means

noun A mixture of water and soil or fine grained sediment.

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

Etymograph / Middle English mud / mud

Shirt and support for this word