Etymograph

English

cud

Cud comes from Middle English code ‘any kind of plant gum’, from Proto-Germanic *kweduz ‘resin’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷet-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷet-1‘resin, gum’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kweduz2‘resin’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*kwidu2‘gum, resin’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150cudu2
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500code2‘any kind of plant gum’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1942cud2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *kweduz
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English cud
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1942, Emily Carr, Singing: “Here were two ladies nearly fifty years old, throwing…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷet-Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *kweduz‘resin, gum’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kweduzWiktionary, English cud‘resin’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*kwiduWiktionary, English cud‘gum, resin’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150cuduWiktionary, English cud
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500codeWiktionary, English cud‘any kind of plant gum’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1942cudWiktionary, English cud. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1942, Emily Carr, Singing: “Here were two ladies nearly fifty years old, throwing…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *gʷet- ‘resin, gum’

bowel, pudding, bequest, bitumen, bequeath, botulism, botulinum, quoth, 13 more

through Proto-Germanic *kweduz ‘resin’

quid

through Middle English code ‘any kind of plant gum’

code

Today it means

noun The portion of food which is brought back into the mouth by ruminants from their rumen, to be chewed a second time.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “cud”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Proto-Germanic *kweduz. 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 *gʷet- / cud

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