Etymograph

English

tug

Tug comes from Middle English tuggen ‘to pull, tug’, from Old English togian ‘to tow’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dewk- ‘to draw, pull’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dewk-‘to draw, pull’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*tugōną‘to draw, pull’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*togōn‘to pull, tow’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150togian‘to tow’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500tuggen‘to pull, tug’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1697tug

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dewk-‘to draw, pull’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*tugōną‘to draw, pull’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*togōn‘to pull, tow’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150togian‘to tow’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500tuggen‘to pull, tug’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1697tug

Earliest quotation: 1697, Virgil, The Eleventh Book of the Æneis: “At the tug he falls, / Vast ruins come…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *dewk- ‘to draw, pull’

team, education, production, product, touch, produce, reduce, conduct, introduction, tie, duke, reduction, introduce, toy, educate, duchess, induction, tying, dolphin, duct, induce, educator, tighten, conn, douche, conducive, seduce, tuck, subdue, duchy, doge, herzog, tether, taut, transducer, duc, redux, cond, duce, untie, 125 more

through Old English togian ‘to tow’

tow

Today it means

verb To pull or drag with great effort.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *dewk- / tug

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