Etymograph

English

ash

Ash comes from Proto-West Germanic *askā ‘ash, ashes’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₂eHs- ‘to be dry’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eHs-1‘to be dry’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*askǭ1reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*askā1‘ash, ashes’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150acse1
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500aisshe1
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1847ash1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English ash
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1847, H., Ashes on Corn.---An Experiment: “Last spring, after I planted, I took what ashes…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eHs-Wiktionary, English ash‘to be dry’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*askǭWiktionary, English ashreconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*askāWiktionary, English ash‘ash, ashes’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150acseWiktionary, English ash
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500aissheWiktionary, English ash
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1847ashWiktionary, English ash. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1847, H., Ashes on Corn.---An Experiment: “Last spring, after I planted, I took what ashes…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂eHs- ‘to be dry’

are, star, stellar, arent, arson, arid, ardent, azalea, asterisk, areal, ardor, 6 more

through Proto-West Germanic *askā ‘ash, ashes’

ashen, ashy, asse

Another origin of ash

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*Heh₃s-reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*askazreconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*ask‘ash tree’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150æsċ‘ash tree’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500aissh
  6. Englishtodayash

Today it means

noun The solid remains of a fire.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “ash”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂eHs- / ash

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