English
woozy
Woozy comes from Middle English wosy ‘muddy, miry’, from wōse ‘mud, slime, ooze’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *weys- ‘to flow’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weys-‘to flow’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*waisǭ‘mire, muck, slime’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*waisā‘mire, muck, slime’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150wāse‘soft mud’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500wōse‘mud, slime, ooze’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500wosy‘muddy, miry’
- Englishtodaywoozy
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weys-‘to flow’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*waisǭ‘mire, muck, slime’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*waisā‘mire, muck, slime’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150wāse‘soft mud’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500wōse‘mud, slime, ooze’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500wosy‘muddy, miry’
- Englishtodaywoozy
Formed from -y
The story
Perhaps influenced by boozy.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *weys- ‘to flow’
virus, visceral, weasel, whisk, virulent, viscera, virion, 7 more
through Middle English wōse ‘mud, slime, ooze’
Today it means
adj Queasy, dizzy, or disoriented.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *weys- / woozy