Etymograph

English

ewe

Ewe comes from Proto-Germanic *awiz ‘sheep in general’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₂ówis.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂ówis1‘sheep’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*awiz1‘sheep in general’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*awi1reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150eowu1
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ewe1
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1611ewe1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English ewe
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “This twentie yeeres haue I bene with thee: thy…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂ówisWiktionary, English ewe‘sheep’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*awizWiktionary, English ewe‘sheep in general’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*awiWiktionary, English ewereconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150eowuWiktionary, English ewe
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500eweWiktionary, English ewe
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1611eweWiktionary, English ewe. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “This twentie yeeres haue I bene with thee: thy…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂ówis ‘sheep’

aviation, avian, aviator, aviary, 9 more

Today it means

noun A female sheep, as opposed to a ram.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “ewe”. 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 *h₂ówis / ewe

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