Etymograph

English

edge

Edge comes from Middle English egge ‘an edge of a blade or instrument’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eḱ-1‘sharp’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*agjō1‘edge’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*aggju1‘edge’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150eċġ1
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500egge1‘an edge of a blade or instrument’
  6. Englishearliest quotation c. 1595–1596edge1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English edge
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1595–1596, William Shakespeare, Loues Labour’s Lost: “Here by, upon the edge of yonder coppice; /…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eḱ-Wiktionary, English edge‘sharp’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*agjōWiktionary, English edge‘edge’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*aggjuWiktionary, English edge‘edge’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150eċġWiktionary, English edge
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500eggeWiktionary, English edge‘an edge of a blade or instrument’
  6. Englishearliest quotation c. 1595–1596edgeWiktionary, English edge. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1595–1596, William Shakespeare, Loues Labour’s Lost: “Here by, upon the edge of yonder coppice; /…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ- ‘sharp’

hear, acid, ear, hammer, acute, axe, eager, acne, oxide, vinegar, mediocre, acetate, 88 more

through Proto-Germanic *agjō ‘edge, corner’

egg, 1 more

Today it means

noun The boundary line of a surface.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “edge”. 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 *h₂eḱ- / edge

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