Etymograph

English

nose

Nose comes from Old English nosu, from Proto-West Germanic *nosu, presumably from Proto-Indo-European *néh₂s ‘nose’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*néh₂s‘nose, nostril’uncertain
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*nosureconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150nosu
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500nose
  5. Englishearliest quotation c. 1599–1602same form

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*néh₂s‘nose, nostril’uncertain
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*nosureconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150nosu
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500nose
  5. Englishearliest quotation c. 1599–1602same form

Earliest quotation: c. 1599–1602, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: “[…] if you finde him not this moneth, you…”

Linked words

through Middle English nose

noose, 1 more

Today it means

noun A protuberance on the face housing the nostrils, which are used to breathe or smell.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *néh₂s / nose

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