Etymograph

English

ask

Ask comes from Middle English asken ‘to ask about’, from Proto-West Germanic *aiskōn ‘to claim’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eys- ‘to wish’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eys-1‘to wish’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂isḱéti1‘to be seeking’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*iskaną1reconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*aiskaz1reconstructed
  5. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*aisk1‘question’reconstructed
  6. Proto-West Germanic, derivedc. 200–500 CE*aiskōn1‘to claim’reconstructed
  7. Old Englishc. 450–1150āscian1‘to ask’
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500asken1‘to ask about’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1611ask1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English ask
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “Ask, and it shall be given you.”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eys-Wiktionary, English ask‘to wish’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂isḱétiWiktionary, English ask‘to be seeking’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*iskanąWiktionary, English askreconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*aiskazWiktionary, English askreconstructed
  5. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*aiskWiktionary, English ask‘question’reconstructed
  6. Proto-West Germanic, derivedc. 200–500 CE*aiskōnWiktionary, English ask‘to claim’reconstructed
  7. Old Englishc. 450–1150āscianWiktionary, English ask‘to ask’
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500askenWiktionary, English ask‘to ask about’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1611askWiktionary, English ask. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “Ask, and it shall be given you.”

Linked words

through Proto-West Germanic *aiskōn ‘to claim’

asking, 1 more

through Old English āscian ‘to ask’

axe, ax, aks, 1 more

through Middle English asken ‘to ask about’

asker, 1 more

Another origin of ask

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*agizuncertain
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*agi‘lizard, snake’uncertain
  3. Proto-West Germanic, derivedc. 200–500 CE*agiþahsijā‘lizard’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150āþexe‘lizard, newt’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500aske‘a newt or lizard’
  6. Englishtodayask

Today it means

verb To request (information, or an answer to a question).

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “ask”. 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 *h₂eys- / ask

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