English
uncouth
Uncouth comes from Old English uncūþ ‘unknown’, from Proto-Germanic *kunnaną ‘to know’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵneh₃-‘to know’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵn̥néh₃ti‘to know, recognize’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kunnaną‘to know’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kunþazreconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*unkunþaz‘unknown’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*unkunþreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150uncūþ‘unknown’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500uncouth
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1598–1600same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵneh₃-‘to know’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵn̥néh₃ti‘to know, recognize’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kunnaną‘to know’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kunþazreconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*unkunþaz‘unknown’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*unkunþreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150uncūþ‘unknown’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500uncouth
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1598–1600same form
Earliest quotation: c. 1598–1600, William Shakespeare, As You Like It: “If this uncouth forest yield anything savage, I will…”
Proto-Indo-European *n̥- ‘not, un-’
Proto-Germanic *un- ‘not, un-’
Proto-West Germanic *un- ‘not, un-’
English un-
Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- ‘to know’
…
Proto-Germanic *kunnaną ‘to be familiar with, know, recognize’
Old English cunnan ‘to be familiar with, know’
Old English cūþ ‘familiar, intimate, known, usual’
Middle English couth ‘familiar, known’
English couth
The story
The modern pronunciation does not show /aʊ/, the usual development of the Middle English vowel from the Great Vowel Shift. It is usually explained as a pronunciation taken from Northern English dialects, which did not undergo the diphthongization of the vowel.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- ‘to know’
know, note, normal, notice, ignore, narrative, glory, recognize, recognition, noble, notion, keen, ignorant, cognitive, norm, diagnostic, notorious, notation, nobility, prognosis, narration, quaint, gnome, notoriety, cognition, notary, agnostic, canny, connoisseur, incognito, gnosis, annotate, kith, recognizance, cognizance, 88 more
through Proto-Germanic *kunnaną ‘to know’
Today it means
adj Unfamiliar, strange, foreign.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- / uncouth