Etymograph

English

ax

Ax comes from Old English āscian ‘to ask’, from Proto-West Germanic *aiskōn ‘to claim’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eys- ‘to request’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eys-1‘to request’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂isḱéti1‘to be seeking, searching’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*aiskaz1reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*aisk2‘claim’reconstructed
  5. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*aiskōn3‘to claim’reconstructed
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150āscian4‘to ask’
  7. Old Englishc. 450–1150ācsian4
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500axen4
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1526ax4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *aisk
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *aiskōn
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Old English ascian
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English ax
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1526, [William Tyndale, The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible): “When they were come togedder, they axed off hym,…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eys-Wiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *aisk‘to request’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂isḱétiWiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *aisk‘to be seeking, searching’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*aiskazWiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *aiskreconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*aiskWiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *aiskōn‘claim’reconstructed
  5. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*aiskōnWiktionary, Old English ascian‘to claim’reconstructed
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150āscianWiktionary, English ax‘to ask’
  7. Old Englishc. 450–1150ācsianWiktionary, English ax
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500axenWiktionary, English ax
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1526axWiktionary, English ax. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1526, [William Tyndale, The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible): “When they were come togedder, they axed off hym,…”

The story

Ax/aks was common in literary works until about 1600.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-West Germanic *aiskōn ‘to claim’

asking, 1 more

through Old English āscian ‘to ask’

ask, axe, aks, asker, 1 more

Today it means

verb —

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “ax”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-West Germanic *aisk, Proto-West Germanic *aiskōn, Old English ascian. 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- / ax

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